Crue and Penny staggered out of the tunnels from Amity, seeing the group of students standing before… "General Ironwood!" The ginger android exclaimed. It caught the General's attention, his blue eyes locking onto Penny.

Crue watched his face set into a grimace, as those eyes slid to Crue. "Cullen." He grit his teeth, as the group before them turned. The Faunus felt two dozen sets of eyes staring at him, accusing him, judging him.

"General, I am combat ready!" Penny attempted to salute, but with only one arm and leg, she nearly tipped over. She was only stopped thanks to Crue acting quickly and wrapping his arms around her torso and preventing it.

"Penny, you are to remain out of battle." Ironwood instructed. Penny made to argue, but the General refused. "You are unfit, and damaged. Cullen…" Ironwood looked as though he would like nothing more to arrest him on the spot. Or maybe put a bullet in him.

Then, a small lapse in his snarl. A memory, perhaps. Of how Crue described his feelings for Penny. "Protect her with your life."

Crue's eyes were like steel as he nodded. "I will." The finality in his voice caused Penny to look up with worry at him.

"Crue?" Her voice sounded as though she was about to cry. Briefly, the Faunus wondered if she was capable of producing tears.

"You'll be safe, Penny." Crue promised, helping her to the shuttle the group was boarding. He brought her to the front, setting her down and strapping a seatbelt across her.

He sat down next to her, taking a moment to carefully inspect the damages to her body. "Crue. Why do you take such care for me? Even when we first met, you showed concern for me that was unfound."

The Faunus took the question like a blow to the gut. Penny's eye observed him, and he had a feeling that if he tried to lie, she would be able to tell. Through sensors, heartbeat or whatever else she had available.

Crue quickly glanced around, checking that no one else was listening. Everyone was too busy comforting each other or trying to reach friends on their Scrolls. The Faunus took a deep breath and spoke quietly.

"I had a sister that looked a lot like you. She, she's not around anymore. And, when I first saw you, all I could think of was how alike you were." While Penny assumed he was referring to their first meeting in Vale, Crue wasn't.

The first time he saw the redhead, on a cracked phone screen in a drafty bedroom, he had several different emotions. Disbelief. Anger. Sadness. Before eventually coming to like Penny, and even love her. And then, he lost her all over again.

"So, when you looked at me so scared, I knew I had to protect you." The Faunus knew he had to save her regardless, but to see her bright green eyes looking at him with such concern, his resolve doubled.

Penny said nothing for a moment, and Crue swore he could literally hear her processing the information. "You see me as your sister? I have never had a sibling before." Her head tilted, her one good eye meeting Crue's.

She smiled. "I think it would be nice." Crue felt his heart warm, before the sound of an explosion shook the shuttle. The Faunus reacted immediately, wrapping his arms around Penny as the vehicle rattled.

"What happened?!" He called out, hoping someone would answer. He looked out of the window in the front of the shuttle and felt his heart shatter into a hundred pieces.

"No." General Ironwood's ship plummeted out the sky, a plume of smoke rising from its tail end as its engines spat fire. Flashes of light burst sporadically through the cockpit window as Crue got to his feet to stare at the falling ship.

"She, she wouldn't." Crue's voice cracked as he stared numbly out the window. He felt a hole open up in his stomach, as the world around him faded out. Did his words mean nothing to Neo. Did she care about Roman more than him.

Of course, she did. There was someone yelling behind him. He couldn't make out the words, the sounds coming through muffled over a dull ringing in his ears. Neo had uploaded the Virus to Atlas Battleship.

It meant that all of their hardware was now turning against… turning against… Sound and colour returned sharply, as Crue spun on his heel and looked to Penny. His heart shattered a second time, seeing the expression on the girl's face.

She had just watched the General, someone she cared for, go down as well, and Crue reminded himself that she was human. Regardless of the wires and gears hanging out of her. "Penny." Crue knelt down before her, placing his hand against her cheek as her eye seemed to whir and acknowledge his presence.

"Can you connect with the main battleship?" His blue eyes met green, before they closed. Penny concentrated for a moment, a frown appearing on her features.

"There is something preventing communication with the main computer." She opened an eye, her other, damaged one remaining closed. "I do not understand."

"I do." Crue's teeth were clenched, as he brought his Scroll out. The screen was no longer shining red, and as Crue unlocked it he hated himself for forgetting such an important file. "My Scroll has a copy of a Virus that was used, and it's controller."

Penny's eye met his. It didn't blink. It didn't contract. But he could still see her wonder why he had it in his possession. "I stole it from someone called Arthur Watts. But, I think if you can send the controller to the ship, we might have a chance at stopping this."

"But, what has this Virus done, Crue?" Penny asked, her head tilting to the side.

The Faunus swallowed once. He was up in the air, along with every other student. No one had any idea what was going on below in this moment. He shouldn't have an answer for her question.

"It's turned all of the Atlesian robots rogue." Omitting the truth was what caused this. Not sharing everything he knew only made everything worse. Crue decided he would never make that mistake again.

Penny's one eye widened, as she accepted the Scroll with a nod. She set it down on her leg, as one of her fingertips unhinged itself. Crue blinked. He probably should have expected that.

A small connector plug popped out, as Penny inserted it into his Scroll. "Oh." Her eye seemed to flash green, as it began looking in several different directions, despite her body and head remaining perfectly still. "You have a large collection of music Crue. The artist called 'Dust Punk' sounds very appealing."

"Did, did you just listen to all of my music in two seconds?" The Faunus asked.

"Yes. It was the largest group of files I could find of similar type. But do not worry. I have found the Controller." The colour in her eyes suddenly faded, causing Crue's breathing to stop. After a second that felt like an eternity, Penny's eye darted back up.

"That was quite a Virus. And you were correct, Crue. The signature on the code is the same as Doctor Arthur Cornelius Watts." The Faunus saved the middle name away in a part of his mind reserved specifically for pissing off opponents.

"Can you use it to override the one on the ship?" He asked, his brow creasing in concern. If this didn't work, he had no idea what to do.

"I can." Penny said happily. Crue's heart managed to piece itself back together, and was about to jump for joy, before the girl continued. "I can if I could make contact with the mainframe. But unfortunately, the current virus is still preventing communication."

"I… There is a way to send the new one." Crue chewed on the inside of his cheek. "There's a person in my contacts called 'Neo'. Send it to her, and it will reach the ship." Her Scroll was connected to the battleship, so the controller should override the virus.

Penny clearly had questions about Crue's certainty that this course of action would work, but given everything that she had been told by him already, she was inclined to trust the Faunus.

"Understood. Opening contacts now." Penny nodded. "Oh. Oh my." Crue's head titled at an angle, as he could hear literally hear Penny's processors whirring, trying to figure out what was wrong. One side of her cheeks began to redden.

"I was unaware you were that flexible, Crue."

The Faunus' face became as red as Penny's hair. "Pennyfortheloveofgodpurgethoseimagesfromyourmemory." His words came out in a single breath, ending in a wheeze.

"That is an action I concur with." She blinked, or winked, rather as one eye was still closed, and continued to speak. "Transferring anti-virus now. Also, you have, two, unread messages from Neo." Her voice sounded remarkably robotic in that instance, as Crue let loose a sigh that completely deflated his lungs.

"Penny-" Before Crue could explain how he wasn't ready to hear her reasons for, he couldn't say betraying him as she never promised she would follow his wishes in the first place, Penny read them aloud.

"They say: 'Not alone'. And…"

Crue's blood turned to ice. And finally, in that moment, he realised something was missing from the shuttle. An absence of red. His head turned, daring to look up at the one remaining battleship.

Penny continued, unaware of the terrified expression on Crue's face.

"I'm sorry."

…

Ruby Rose landed on the Atlesian Battleship with grim determination and the destruction of one of Beacon's many rocket lockers. Unfortunately, her landing did not go unnoticed. A Griffon split off from its pack, descending with a screech as it landed directly where Ruby had been but a moment ago.

Her Semblance allowed her to dodge, forming above the Grimm as she shifted Crescent Rose into its scythe form, and quickly slashed it to pieces. She took a breath, hands on her legs as she tried to keep everything together.

Despite the fact she was hundreds of miles up in the sky, the hairs on the back of Ruby's neck stood up as she felt someone staring at her. She turned, and her silver eyes narrowed. Standing before her was a small woman in an Atlas Military uniform.

But what stood out to Ruby, was her pink and brown hair. Ruby knew this person, Torchwick's helper, she must have freed him so he could take over the ship. Ruby reloaded her weapon and took a step towards her enemy, before freezing at the look on their face.

Concern.

She looked worried that Ruby was there. And not in the way the reaper expected her to be. "Neopolitan…" Ruby said slowly, before the name began to repeat in her head. Over and over again, until it clicked like the hammer on a pistol.

Ruby's scythe lowered, her eyes wide as she met pink and brown. No, it couldn't be… "Po- Polly?" Ruby silently begged her enemy to disagree. To shatter into pieces and begin to fight her, just so she wouldn't know the truth.

Neopolitan did shatter, from the ground up as her appearance changed. Black boots, a black skirt and black pigtails. "No…" Ruby's voice was lost among the howling winds this high up, as green eyes stared back at her.

They were filled with sorrow. The reaper found herself unable to move, as every interaction she had with Polly played out in her mind. She, she had been her friend. "You…" She couldn't manage to say more. Polly- no, it wasn't Polly. It was never Polly. Neopolitan looked away.

Ashamed.

They had spent time together. "You…" Her voice wavered. She had laughed with them. She had been nice to them. Was it all a trick? "You…" She was in their room. With her team. With her friends. Ruby's eyes, close to tears, suddenly hardened, as more memories came to the forefront of her mind.

"You." Neopolitan looked up at the sudden change in tone and saw anger that shouldn't belong to the young girl directed at her. "You!" Ruby remembered the dance. Remembered having fun. Remembered seeing Neopolitan dancing.

With Crue.

With Crue, the same Crue who cried when they broke up. The same Crue who was always there for her team. For her. For his sisters. And then, she remembered the look on his face, when Ironwood's ship fell out of the sky.

Ruby's teeth were bared as she glared at Neopolitan, with too much hatred for such a small body. In that moment, she decided to emulate the brother she cared for as best she could. She also decided, that what she said next could never get back to Yang.

"YOU BROKE HIS FUCKING HEART!" She screamed, her voice cracking as she swore. Neopolitan's eyes widened, as she unconsciously took a step back from the accusation. Ruby burst forward in a tornado of petals as she rocketed towards Neo.

Neo could have dodged. She could have used Ruby's momentum against her, slamming her into the ground or sending her off the ship. She could have destroyed the young girl.

She didn't.

Ruby hit like a train, Neo's Aura straining against the brutal blow. "HE TRUSTED YOU!" Ruby brought her scythe up with a yell, her voice fluctuating at such high volumes, and with such raw emotion. She fired a round towards Neo, who finally dodged.

"WE ALL TRUSTED YOU!" Ruby slammed the blade of her weapon into the ship, using it as a pivot to swing round and attempt to kick Neo. The girls disguise finally shattered as she weaved to the side, allowing Ruby some concerningly vicious relief at destroying at least an image of the one who lied to them.

"YOU LIED TO US! YOU LIED TO CRUE!" Ruby pulled the trigger on Crescent Rose, as she launched towards Neopolitan with one more scream. "HE LOVED YOU!" Her words caused Neo to stumble.

Ruby struck, pinning Neopolitan to the ground with the shaft of her scythe, as she pushed down from above. Neo's eyes were pinched as twisted her head, struggling to lift the weapon off her. She froze, as she felt liquid hitting her cheeks.

Pink and brown eyes opened, looking into sobbing pools of silver. "Why…?" Ruby choked out, the fight drained from her spirit as she searched for an answer in Neo's eyes.

Neopolitan wanted to answer. She truly did. Her mouth opened, and fire washed across them. An explosion went off, and Ruby was flung from Neo's body, landing with a grunt as Crescent Rose skid across the ships deck.

"Neo!" Both girls looked up, seeing Roman Torchwick lowering his cane as he jogged over. "What happened? Don't tell me Red got one over on you?" He stopped, noticing his associate's expression. "Neo…?"

Neopolitan looked up, her face one that Torchwick had never seen before. Pain. Sorrow. Regret. They all mixed together to make his partner, a woman who would never so much as bat an eye at doing something illegal, almost cry.

"Torchwick!" The thief turned, seeing Ruby getting to her feet. The con had a sly remark ready, but it died on his tongue as he saw the Huntress' expression. The young face contorted into one of pure rage.

"Yeesh. What'd Neo say to piss you off?" He joked, looking between the two diminutive girls. Ruby grit her teeth, and looked ready to rush him, before her silver eyes flickered over his shoulder.

"Oh, don't worry dear Roman." The criminal shivered beneath his coat, as his head turned. A blonde woman, wearing a tattered Atlas Uniform, strode towards them. She showed up alongside Neo when she came to break him out.

He had no idea who she was, except that she worked with Cinder. And she seemed to stress the 'with'. Not for. Which to Roman, meant the same level of 'Don't go against me or I'll kill you' that he gave Cinder. "Blondie, you know something I don't?" He asked.

Blue eyes glinted dangerously as they shifted to Roman. "Oh, I know a lot of things you don't Roman. But if you're referring to why these two seem to be up in arms, I know that too…" She trailed off, bringing her hands to her cheeks with a sigh.

"Young love~."

Roman… misunderstood.

"YOU'RE DATING RED!?" He exclaimed, looking to the reaper in horror. "I THOUGHT YOU WERE DATING THE WOLF!?"

The world seemed to fall silent, as even the rushing of the wind quietened after the exclamation.

"Crue's The Wolf?" Ruby whispered in confusion, recalling her single interaction with the vigilante. Her silver eyes widened. "Oh God, I shot him in the face."

"He's the Wolf? You knew?" Came the decidedly less whispered words from Solaris. The woman's hand fell to her side, where a curled-up whip hung from a hook.

"No, no, no." Roman spoke quickly, turning round to face Solaris properly. "I don't mean The Wolf. I give everyone names. She's Red, you're Blondie, her sisters Blondie. And the guy Neo was dating is Wolf." His hands waved madly, attempting to dissuade the dangerous woman.

It didn't seem to be working, as Solaris' whip uncoiled, and her eyes flickered between blue and gold. "I hope you haven't lied to me, Roman." A crack echoed across the battleship, which seemed to reintroduce the wind.

"But, we have a job to do. Wouldn't you agree." Solaris brought back her whip, her golden eyes leaving Roman's. They looked past him, to the weaponless girl still trying to figure out if her friend and brother-figure was a criminal.

"Now, let's have some fun!" Solaris exclaimed, bringing her whip down. Ruby looked up at the last second, seeing a glowing lash descending on her. She raised her arms to protect herself, Aura flooding them as the whip crashed down.

An explosion rocked the ship, dust and smoke billowing out from the blast. A terrifying smile appeared on Solaris' face, as she awaited the results of her attack. The smile died an ugly death, as a frilly parasol appeared from the smoke.

Ruby cracked open a silver eye, once she realised she hadn't been blown to pieces. She glanced up, and saw pink, brown and white. Her eyes widened, as Neo folded her parasol before she could be blown off the ship, standing in front of Ruby. Protectively.

"Neo…" Roman groaned. "You better have accidentally stumbled into that." The thief took a careful step towards Neo, and away from Solaris. The woman's blue eyes sparked with anger as she stared daggers at the mute.

Roman made eye contact with Neo, and the two seemed to share a rapid, and not very pleasant, silent conversation. The crook gave a long, drawn-out sigh as he twirled his cane, approaching Ruby and Neo.

"And this, is what happens when I don't vet your boyfriends." He complained, spinning on his heel and facing Solaris. "Sorry Blondie. Looks like Neo's got something she cares for more than Cinder could scare her."

"Lo-. Luh-. Uh, I think I'm gonna be sick." Roman shook his head, refusing to say the word 'love' before looking up at Solaris. "No hard feelings, right?"

Solaris looked like she had several, feelings, in fact. But as her eyes shifted from blue to gold, she smiled. "Of course not, dear Roman. All the more fun for me." Her whip snapped twice behind her, bright white teeth shining dangerously.

"This Wolf better be able to kick Cinder's ass, cause if he doesn't, I'm gonna haunt his." Roman grumbled, his hands twitching around his cane.

"He will." Ruby spoke up from behind him, quickly dashing to pick up Crescent Rose and reloading it. "I believe in him."

"Ugh." Roman grunted. "I can't believe I'm going to die fighting with you. You sure know how to pick'em, Neo." The mute gave a small frown, before her eyes landed on Ruby. The girl noticed, and a scowl that didn't suit her came to life on her face.

"We'll talk, after this is over. Polly."

Roman would never in a hundred years admit it, but he was almost impressed at the amount of scorn that the young girl managed to generate from a single word. "Well, the nights still young. Let's finish this while we are too." He said instead.

Roman, Ruby and Neo stood ready against Solaris the woman's whip cracks increasing in speed. She brought it back, as the three readied themselves to attack

A piercing howl split the air.

Every head turned to Neo, from whom the sound originated. The girl blinked several times, before reaching to her pocket and taking out her Scroll. "Excuse me?!" Solaris yelled. "I thought we were going to have a wonderful fight! Where you hit me! Blow me up! And more! Where is it?!"

"That was Crue's ringtone…" Ruby realised. Unfortunately, with that realisation, came another, as she remembered an incident when Polly- not Polly, Ruby reminded herself. When Neo had received a message from Crue when they were hanging out.

And she refused to share it with Ruby.

The reaper let out a sound like she was trying to collapse in on herself. "Ewww. Crue sent a bad guy naughty pictures." She groaned, trying to purge the memory.

"HE WHAT?! I'M GOING TO KILL HIM!" Roman exclaimed, before his green eyes widened as he brought up his cane. Solaris' whip wrapped around it and dragged him towards masochist.

"WE ARE GOING TO FIGHT! YOU ARE GOING TO HURT ME! AND I'M GOING TO LIKE IT!" She screamed, releasing Roman as she allowed him to swing at her. The thief did so, slamming his cane across her thigh before spinning it round and striking her multiple times with the butt of it.

Ruby slammed Crescent Rose down, taking aim at Solaris through her scope. She ignored the disbelief that she was actually fighting alongside Roman Torchwick and fired.

Solaris tanked it. There was no other term for it. Well, maybe 'enjoyed' it would work, as she let out a cry of pleasure that Ruby was much too young to hear. She winced, as she felt a hand grab her shoulder.

She reacted violently, before a bright green screen was shoved into her face. She blinked as she pushed it back, and quickly absorbed what she was being shown. Instead of the bright red with a queen piece that had sent Amity into panic, there was a wolf made from spirals.

A symbol that Ruby recognised. "Crue!" Her silver eyes shone in glee, before they looked up to meet Neo's. The glee faded, but the message was clear. Literally, as above the symbol in big bold letters was the words 'ANTI-VIRUS'.

Neo handed Ruby her Scroll, as she removed a long blade from the inside of her umbrella. It hissed free, and in a blink, she was gone, joining Roman in their fight. Ruby held the Scroll tight, as she shot forward in a burst of rose petals.

Her momentum came to an abrupt halt, as something coiled around her ankle. She was yanked backward with a yell, nearly crashing into Roman, who twisted out of her way at the last moment. Solaris dragged Ruby towards her, a manic look in her golden eyes.

A thin blade appeared from nowhere, stabbing at the blonde's neck. Solaris' growled as she dodged, having to allow Ruby to get away without a follow up attack.

She rolled as the whip released her, and Neo and Roman attacked Solaris in tandem. The two were completely in sync, and Ruby couldn't find an opening to get a shot off. Instead, she aimed Crescent Rose behind her and fired, using the momentum to go up and over the fight.

She saw the whip coming this time and fired once more to just barely dodge it. The tip of the weapon missed by a hair, before slamming back down to defend against her two opponents. Roman and Neo fought together like a well-oiled machine, but as Solaris whip coiled and bent at impossible angles, the two were reminded of why they cowed to Cinder in the first place.

Solaris was a menace. She took every blow with ease and returned it with double the power. Roman let out a grunt as he was thrown back from a punch that shouldn't have done as much damage as it did.

"Great. Another blonde that gives back what they get." He groaned, quickly getting to his feet. Solaris let out a sigh as she ducked under Neo's rapid jabs.

"That's another one who figured out my power too quickly." Her whip wrapped around Hush, as she tossed Neo like a ragdoll. "The other one was… The Wolf." Her gaze turned to Roman, golden eyes looking deadly.

They crinkled upward in a repulsive twist of a smile. "I can't wait to play with him again. Maybe I'll break him, along with Crue. Provided Cindy doesn't get to him first."

Her words had the intended effect, as the petite girl she had flung appeared before her, eyes white in rage as her sword was poised to stab Solaris' eye out of her socket. The blonde weaved to the side, as she brought up her fist, her whip coiled around it.

Spikes shot out of the whip, as Neo missed her strike. Even as Torchwick yelled out her name, it was too late.

Neo watched as Solaris' fist swung down, the points of the blades shining in the reflection of the mute's eyes. Her eyelids closed, her last thought was the hope that Crue would forgive her.

A gunshot echoed, followed by a scream.

Neo's eyes shot open, as she was pulled backwards by Torchwick's cane. Solaris was clutching the side of her head, and Neo could see a chunk of hair missing. She removed her hand, a bloody groove running along the side of her head.

She turned, seeing Ruby standing in the shattered window of the cockpit, silhouetted by a green glow. The reaper reloaded her weapon with a glare directed to the blonde. "Crue will beat Cinder. We'll beat all of you!" She yelled, mostly because she was so far from the others she had to.

Solaris said nothing for a few moments, her lips twisted into a snarl, before she seemed to see something behind Ruby. The snarl stayed, but she sounded much too happy as she spoke. "I wonder what Kevin will think of that."

The query left a stillness in the air, one that none of the fighters trusted. Finally, Ruby couldn't hold her worry. "Who's Kevin?"

The sound of beating wings answered her.

This is why I had Crue forget about the controller. It just makes things too easy for him. So many lives will be saved, thanks to his actions. And not just his. Torchwick cares for Neo more than he fears Cinder, so if she decides to go against her, you can be sure he'll follow along.

Well, follow for as long as he can while a massive Grimm Dragon decides to answer the call of Salem's follower. Solaris has Golden Eyes too, along with the rest of Salem's circle. That would normally make any fight a cakewalk, but with someone as unpredictable as Neo that makes things a bit harder.

But things are already in motion. Things that not even Crue can stop.

Until Next Time

-Friday, The Author