Chapter 73

"They're -cough cough- on our side now!" Oscar explained frantically.

Jaune narrowed his eyes. In one hand his sword was drawn, while the other was on Oscar's shoulder so Amp could boost the younger boy's Aura. "Are you sure?" he asked, waving his sword at the pair in front of them.

Emerald held her hands up with an annoyed grimace. Hazel's arms were limp, damaged and bleeding from the overuse of Dust. He looked resigned. "We helped you against Salem!" Emerald huffed.

Ren nudged Jaune. "They're telling the truth." His eyes implored his leader to trust him. Jaune sighed and sheathed Crocea Mors.

"Alright. We've got to get moving then. Oscar, can you stand?" Jaune made a decision to trust his friends. Now they just had to get around the army…

"Y-yeah… I'll be okay." The boy slowly got to his feet. Whatever blast he did obviously took a lot out of him. And after all that torture too… he wasn't in a good way. Jaune hoped that he could speed up his recovery more.

Hazel frowned. "We should be cautious. I failed to kill Tyrian, and I doubt that attack killed him."

Oh great, the psycho is out here. Jaune held back a groan. "Got it. Let's go. Pyrrha, any luck?" He turned to face his partner, who had her scroll out.

Pyrrha shook her head. "Ruby hasn't responded. I'm trying Ilia now…" While they waited, Jaune started boosting Hazel. The man already had a faster than average Aura regeneration, but Jaune could boost its healing abilities.

"Thank you…" Hazel mumbled.

"... Didn't know Dust did this to people…"

"Hmph. It's… dangerous. The pain puts most off, but if you can get past that… the raw power is worth it. Overuse however does this." Hazel tried to move his arms, and in spite of the healing they shook and barely moved up. "My arms will take time to recover… if I had gone further, my body could have given out."

The reality that Hazel could have died just from using Dust was something Jaune wasn't all that familiar with. The technique was old, only used by eccentrics these days. The consequences… Jaune wasn't ready for them. But here they were, staring him in the face. He took a breath and released it.

"Well, guess we'll have to deal with Tyrian."

"Mm… as long as you have Maidens, there is little chance of his victory, but be careful. He is incredibly dangerous," Hazel warned.

Jaune nodded. "Yeah, we will. You just… take care of yourself." It felt weird to say that to someone who was trying to kill them at Haven, and who had been torturing their friend just a half hour ago.

"Ilia!" Pyrrha suddenly cried out. "Thank goodness. We were worried when Ruby wasn't responding…"

"Sorry. She's… busy. How are you guys?" Ilia's voice came out over the scroll, sounding worried.

"We're okay. We need a way out of the farmland though." Pyrrha replied.

"Farmland? You're on Atlas? Hm… hold on. We're working on something here… I'll send you a map and some directions. Get to the Schnee Manor, it's where we're hiding."

"The Schnee Manor? Okay. We'll be there soon." The call ended shortly after, followed by a basic map and directions through the subway. With a shared look of worry, the group headed off.

"Winter. Good work with the bomb." General Ironwood smiled tiredly.

"Sir I-" Winter opened her mouth to correct him, but he barreled over her and continued.

"Now that Salem is dealt with, we have time to sort out the Penny situation. I need you to grab Arc and his friends and being them up to me-"

"Sir! We don't have them." Her words caused the office to fall silent aside from the odd beeping from the console.

Ironwood took a deep breath. "Explain."

"Arc, Nikos, and Ren were let go. I decided to allow them to attempt a rescue of Oscar Pine, who had been captured by Salem. In addition, the bomb wasn't used. We still have it," she succinctly explained.

The General's face went through a series of emotions before finally landing on some form of determined anger. "You let them go?"

"Yes sir. I decided it was the most appropriate response. I believe It led to them destroying that Grimm and buying us time, so I stand by my decision," she replied quickly.

"I don't care what it resulted in right now, I care about the why! Why disobey orders!?" Ironwood snarled at her. It was… surprising. He'd always been the collected General, not… this.

"... I did it because I hoped they could do what I could not, sir." Winter was honest. The Ace-Ops looked at her in surprise, but Ironwood was confused. He motioned for her to explain, and so she did. "I could not save my sister. I… wished for them to succeed in saving their friend."

She heard Harriet scoff, but ignored her. What mattered was how the General reacted. He thought for a while, then sighed. "Specialist, next time inform me of such a decision. If this had not resulted in the destruction of that monster, I would send you to the brig. As it is, we still have the bomb… hmm. I need it secured."

The Ace-Ops blinked in confusion. "Sir? What happened?" Vine asked.

"Mercury Black freed Watts. They're on the loose in the base right now." The words sent a shock through them. "If Watts gets access to the bomb… we're all dead. I need you all to stop them, now. Winter… I am trusting you with command once more. Prove to me that you have the interests of Atlas first and foremost. Understood?"

Winter nodded, then saluted. "I understand, sir."

"Good. Oh… also I will need you to prepare to bring up one of our prisoners." He said it nonchalantly, but Winter was confused.

"Sir? Why?"

"Hm? Oh… Penny refuses to help us, so we'll have to make her. Watts failed, so I have decided to do something else. If they don't open the Vault, I'll execute our prisoners."

The cold and emotionlessness in his eyes sent a shiver down her spine. There was ruthless, there was cold, there was determined. And then there was this.

This desire to do anything for his goal, and proving that it wasn't just words.

Ironwood would kill people who were, by many metrics, allies against Salem.

Winter nodded. "I understand sir. We'll capture Watts and Black, and we'll bring you the prisoners."

"Good. Dismissed."

The Ace-Ops and Winter left the room. Winter immediately began giving orders. "Watts will be after access to our systems. Elm, Vine. Head to the bomb and secure it. Harriet, you can operate alone for now. Scour the whole complex for any trace then contact us. Marrow, you're with me."

The others, save Harriet, nodded. The speedster glared and then took off. Once she was alone with Marrow, she looked him dead in the eye. "What is your opinion on our General's decision? Speak freely."

"Huh?" Marrow blinked in shock, then looked around. Nobody was there. He must have sensed something in her gaze that he could trust, because he gave her his unfiltered opinion. "I… I hate it. I can't go along with that. Executing people? Allies? To force kids to do what we want? It's abhorrent."

Winter sighed. "... I no longer believe he has the best interests of Atlas at heart. Perhaps it is time for… a change." She started walking and pulled out her scroll. "It's time we work with the people who really care about the people."

"Are we really going against the General?" Marrow whispered, worried.

"Do you have a better plan? Even if we let him kill Taiyang, Qrow, and Robyn… do you think he'll stop? It's too late for that. He has a bomb designed to kill a massive Grimm. What could that do to Mantle?"

Marrow swallowed audibly. "I… damn it. Alright, what's the plan?"

"Well…"

The mansion was quiet. Day had broken, with Ilia and Whitley discussing ideas. Ruby knew she should join them, but she felt… tired.

Oh so tired.

She sat on the stairs in the main hall, staring at the blackened, burned remains of that silver eyed man. The man Salem had… corrupted. Crescent Rose was still there, impaled into the corpse and stone. She couldn't be bothered moving it.

Ruby wasn't sure how long she sat there, but eventually Ilia ran to the main doors and pulled them open, revealing Jaune and the others. They looked tired and beat up, but they excitedly hugged Ilia. Ruby saw that Hazel and Emerald were with them. But she found it hard to care.

"Ruby… are you okay?" Jaune asked, coming up to her with a worried look. She could understand why, but it wasn't going to help her.

"You should see Nora," she replied. JPR all looked worried immediately, so Ilia offered to take them to her.

Soon all who were left were Ruby, Oscar, Hazel, and Emerald. Oscar came up to her. "I… are you okay?"

"... That thing… that hound…" She whispered, but her words sparked something in the trio. They all looked at the corpse with surprise. "It was… a man. With silver eyes. He was… twisted. She broke him. Made him a monster."

Emerald looked like she was about to throw up, while Hazel looked pissed. His hands shook, trying to close into fists but being unable to. Oscar looked horrified. "That… I…. Ruby…"

"That's what she wants to do to me." She surprised herself with how… matter of fact she was. It just was. She knew now what Salem wanted from her. Why she'd tried to convince Ruby to join her. It was clear now.

She wanted to cry, but she'd run dry of tears hours ago.

Instead, all she could do was stare at the corpse. Oscar swallowed nervously. "Ruby… I… this has to be hard for you… but…"

"But… we need to move forward? You're right." She sighed. She couldn't just sit here, she knew that. Atlas and Mantle and the whole world was at stake. Her eyes drifted to the lamp hanging from Oscar's belt. It crossed her mind to ask Jinn. To finally know what happened to her mother. She tore her eyes from it.

She should stand. She should move. She should get up and start planning. But… she just didn't have the energy. It was gone. Vanished with the wind. No matter how much she thought about what she should do, she just couldn't find the energy.

Did she lack motivation? Desire? Was she afraid? No… she was sure she wasn't afraid. She had motivation and desire! So what was it? What blocked her? What killed her energy?

Her eyes fell on that corpse once again.

… I… what is this? It's so… hard to find it… why? Why can't I? I need to get up. Stand up. The world is in danger! Why won't I just! Get! Up! But try as she might to motivate herself, it was still so hard. She barely had the energy to feel anymore, let alone move.

Oscar seemed so unsure. He didn't know how to help. But then his posture shifted. His eyes flashed, and his face took on a melancholic look. "Ms Rose…"

"Oh… you're back?" She surprised herself with how little she seemed to care.

Ozpin sat beside her. "... Please, tell me what you're going through."

How would that help? She sighed. She didn't want to, but perhaps it was for the best. "Cold. Tired. Exhausted. I can't even cry. I don't have energy to do… anything."

"Hmm… too tired to even feel? I understand. I've… gone through something similar myself. Do you remember the Tale of Seasons? It speaks of one such time. It was… a life after great failure. I'd learned Salem could not be beaten, and after the Circle collapsed… I fell to drink, then to isolation. Even when those girls came, I could not understand. How could they be so… cheery? So happy? But… they inspired me. It wasn't easy, life never is, though that is little more than a platitude, I feel."

He sighed, his fingers drummed against his cane. "What they really taught me was… routine. How to move forward, slowly. It doesn't matter the length of the step, so long as you take one. If you have no energy, then just doing anything is progress. Brush your teeth, even if you give up halfway through. Go for a walk, if only for a few minutes. It's okay not to do something to the best of your abilities, so long as you try. This might just be a short episode for you, but even so…

"All it takes is one tiny, baby step. That's how you start moving again."

Ozpin stood and moved in front of her, with one hand outstretched. He was blocking her view of the… corpse. She swallowed. Why was it so hard for her to move her body? Why did she lack so much energy? Why did this monster drain her so much?

No… it wasn't the monster.

It was the… the truth of what happened to her mother.

In that corpse she could see an… echo of Summer Rose. She hated it. She despised it. She was drained by it. But… mom is gone. I didn't let her death bind me before… I can't let it do so now!

Her hand twitched as she slowly, painfully, put all her effort into raising it. It came up and practically slapped down into Oscar's hand. Or should she think of it as Ozpin's? Whatever. The young boy smiled and held her hand tight while pulling her up.

Just standing under her own power, even if helped, felt… like an accomplishment.

I… am not bound! I can still move! She took the tiniest of steps, just down one step on the stairs, and felt just a little bit better. The other steps were taken slowly, though they didn't give that same little burst. With Oscar's help, she found the energy to shuffle her way into the dining hall.

"I'm… sorry…" she muttered under her breath.

Ozpin shook Oscar's head. "It's alright. We all have our weakest days. They don't make us any lesser. Being able to stand at all shows you are far stronger than I was." There was a melancholic look on his face, as if he was remembering more than one occasion.

"... You feel like this often?"

"When you've lived as many times as I have, yes. When Salem killed our children. When the Circle was destroyed. When Jinn told me I could not destroy Salem. When betrayal destroyed all that I had built. Many times. So, so many times…"

Ruby huffed. "... You said you wish you were as strong as me… but you got back up after so many… I… wish I had your resolve…" She glared at the ceiling as she sat down at the head of the table.

Ozpin chuckled and sat next to her. "Ruby… if you need resolve, just think about what you want to protect."

What I want to protect? The world… my friends… Penny… The answers were obvious. But reminding herself of them… it brought just a bit more energy back. She'd do this. She could do this! For everyone! For those here and those gone!

"Alright… then… I have a plan." Ruby took a deep breath and turned to Emerald and Hazel, who followed them in. "... Are you two going to help, or just hitching a ride?"

Hazel sighed. "My arms are weak, but I will help however I can."

Emerald frowned. "I… just want to know. Cinder… how did… why…" She fumbled over her words, her face scrunched like she was sucking on a lemon.

Ruby sighed. "Cinder… she was a monster who tried to take everything I've ever cared about and partially succeeded. I don't feel any regret for what happened to her. If she ever had any desire to change, she passed up all her opportunities." Surprisingly, the anger Ruby felt towards Cinder summoned up some more energy.

Emerald scowled for a moment. "That's— grrrr! She was more than that! She saved me from the streets! Gave me a place to… to live!"

Hands clenched, Ruby felt the anger burning beneath her skin. Her low energy made it feel… strangely good. She took a deep breath, and used that anger. If it would give her more energy, then she'd take it. "Emerald… did she take you off the streets because she saw a girl in need, or because she saw a useful Semblance? Did she give you a home because she cared for you, or because it would let her ask you to do things? Cinder was not a selfless person… any kindness you saw was probably out of a desire to manipulate you."

The thief clenched her teeth and fists. "I… first Merc, now you! Does nobody see what I saw!?" Her eyes were filled with tears as she yelled, questioning the universe.

Hazel grunted. "I… believe that she had an inkling of care. Of compassion. But she threw it away for power. Don't ignore her faults. Cinder is not worthy of worship." His grumbling voice was like a bucket of cold icy water to the tearful Emerald.

She collapsed, crying.

Ruby felt a pang of guilt at how she'd spoken, as well as a feeling of… almost pity. Emerald had been taken in by honeyed words and a chance to be useful. She'd been manipulated and used, nothing but a tool or pawn for a woman who feigned care.

On its own, her body stood and walked around to Emerald. She offered the girl a hand and said: "Emerald. Nobody can just give you a place to belong. It's not for anyone to decide but yourself. If you want to stay in the place Cinder made for you, then you can. But if you want to be free to choose your own future… stand up."

She wasn't sure what she was saying. Emerald was a killer, a thief, a monster who helped cause so much destruction. But… she was also an orphan. A street rat. A girl used and abused by a worse monster.

"Why…?" Emerald asked between sobs.

Ruby's mouth moved on its own once again. "Because… what kind of hero wouldn't offer you a chance?"

So long ago she wanted to be a hero. For a while she thought she had to be some… dark hero. But no. No. Ruby was Ruby.

She was a hero damnit, and she was going to save everyone!

Determination burned in her eyes, and when Emerald gazed into them she felt… a fire burning inside her. She took Ruby's hand. "I… I hate you. But I hate Salem more. If it wasn't for her… Cinder wouldn't have had to do those things…"

Ruby nodded. "I don't agree, but I'll take it. Whatever differences we have can be sorted out after we defeat Salem. Deal?"

"Deal."

With that, Ruby pulled her up to her feet.

"Now… let's sort out our plan."

Shortly after Ruby began gathering her energy once more, the others came down with Nora. Ren and Nora looked a bit awkward around each other, but at least they seemed determined to get things sorted.

Oscar tapped a finger against the table as everyone took their seats. You'll do fine. I believe in you.

Thanks. He took a breath and spoke. "So… we're all here and doing well enough. I'm glad to see you all. So… I… Ozpin returned a day or so ago. I'm sorry I didn't tell you all."

Jaune shook his head. "Right now, I'm just glad we have his knowledge. We can complain later."

"Jaune is right," Ruby agreed. "Right now we have to focus on saving the cities. Ilia?"

The faunus nodded and shakily stood. "R-right. While Ruby was… recovering, I talked with Whitley. Together we had an idea. The SDC has a small fleet of transport ships. We can send them to Mantle and use them to evacuate everyone there."

Whitley stood up next. "Snow Shoe Shipping has plenty of vessels. We can thank Father for being adamant about keeping civilian vessels from being conscripted easily, otherwise Ironwood could have taken them weeks ago. We could fit hundreds of people in them. They might have to be packed in like sardines without supplies, but… if we then send them to Argus we can evacuate Mantle over the next few days at most."

Ruby frowned. "Ironwood isn't just going to let us do what we want. He's too… controlling. We have to do things his way or he won't relent." Everyone winced at that. "That's why… the only way to save everyone is with the Staff of Creation."

"What!?" Everyone shouted. Ruby held up her hand, begging for silence.

"The Staff could let us save everyone. I don't care what happens to the cities, so long as every person escapes. It could do that, right Oz?" Ruby looked to Oscar, who sighed and transferred control. Get this over with.

Of course.

"The Staff could do it. We'll need as much detail as possible. Coordinates, examples, everything. The more we have, the smaller the margin of error. We don't want to make him fill in too many gaps. He's not… antagonistic but he won't act in our benefit." Ozpin said.

"He?" Jaune asked.

"Ambrosius. He's the spirit of the Staff, like Jinn is the spirit of the Lamp. He isn't bound by a set number of uses with a cooldown. Instead he can only do one thing at a time. Once he is set to something new, his previous creation will… cease to exist."

"Wait, what will happen to Atlas if we use him?" Nora's voice was a little raspy from her injuries.

"The Staff currently is creating a gravity effect similar to Gravity Dust, based on the Islands of Lake Matsu in Mistral. That gravity effect will fade once he is changed over. The Gravity Dust Atlas has installed for the cover story will keep it aloft for a short time and slow its descent, but nothing will stop its destruction. Once we use the Staff… the city will be destroyed." Ozpin glanced at Ruby, but her eyes remained resolute. He smiled. "To use him all you have to do is touch the Staff and will it to activate. Simpler than the Lamp."

Ruby nodded. "That makes things easy. Now the main problem. Pietro called me and told me that Watts hacked Penny. The moment she opens the Vault, she's been ordered to… self terminate." Everyone swallowed in shock. "But… maybe the Staff can save her too…"

Jaune leaned forward. "Do you… have an idea?"

"Maybe… but I need to know how to… game the system here."

Ozpin frowned. "What do you mean?"

"With Jinn, I used her ability to stop time before to my advantage even without using a question. She wasn't happy about it, but she let it happen once. If I knew how Ambrosius works… what his rules are… we could figure out the loopholes to exploit." Ruby stood, placing her hands on the table.

"Alright… well… he can't destroy, or bring back the dead. He needs as much information as possible, and takes things literally. Be careful with how you word things."

Ruby nodded and sat down, thinking. "Then… it's all about the wording?"

As they fell into thought, their scrolls rang with an emergency alert. They shared looks of concern, then Ruby placed down her scroll and threw up a holographic screen of the incoming call.

It was Ironwood.

"People of Atlas. Today, we stand having survived the most trying battle our nation has ever faced. We stand, the victors. But it will not last. Not while dissidents continue to plague us. Right now, the Defender of Mantle hides, holding the key to our salvation.

"And I am done waiting.

"Penny, wherever you are now, I want you to know. Your betrayal of me has cost lives. And it will cost more. Taiyang Xiao-Long. Qrow Branwen. Robyn Hill. These dissidents are friends of yours, or friends of friends. If you do not give yourself up to me… I will execute them, one by one. And once they are gone… well, I have a bomb.

"And once Mantle is gone, you'll have no reason to resist.

"Come back to me. You have one hour to respond. After that, Robyn dies. You'll have half an hour from there until Qrow follows suit. Taiyang after another half hour. And then… Mantle itself. Make the right choice."

It ended as quickly as it began, reigning silence upon the gathered heroes.

"..." Ruby picked up her scroll in silence. She stared at it for a long, quiet moment. Then, "We'll use portals to transport people across the world… Oscar, inform Glynda and Theodore so they can be ready to receive people. We'll split them up as evenly as we can but Vacuo has more defenders right now, so most should go there. The SDC will take people to Mistral. Any faults?"

Ren raised a hand. "We should alert the Happy Huntresses. So they can be ready."

Pyrrha nodded. "Yeah. And we don't know how things are going to be on the other end. We should make sure some of us lead the way."

Jaune smiled. "We can handle that part."

"We still need to deal with Ironwood," Nora added.

Ruby hummed as her scroll beeped again. "I might have an idea for dealing with him…"

Emerald stood up. "Good. Because I might have an idea for that loophole you wanted…"

Ruby's eyes jumped to hers. "Then let's work on the details. We don't have long."

"... It's… been a whole thing…" Oscar sighed.

Glynda smiled sadly on the scroll. "I imagine so. Well, I'm happy to hear that he's back, but I am sad it had to be someone so young. You've been through so much pain because of it…"

"Yeah… It frightens me, what's going to happen, but at the same time… I always wanted to be a hero. He gave me the chance. So I'm… grateful as well." Oscar admitted.

"That's very mature. I'm glad. I hope that I'll get a chance to meet you properly, Oscar. Before the merge completes. I'd like to remember who you were beforehand."

Tears welled up in his eyes. "Thank you… I'll make sure you get that chance."

"Hmph. I always knew you and Ironwood were too reckless, but this takes the cake." Theodore sighed. "No matter. Vacuo will be ready. A sandstorm is coming but I'll get some of my trusted teams out there for support."

"Thank you, Theodore." Oscar smiled.

"Just get everyone through alive so I can smack you all for how reckless this is!" His voice sounded angry, but something in Oscar told him it was kind of a front.

So he nodded. "Of course. Thanks again."

"I see. I'm on my way to Argus then. I'll try and take care of the refugees." Leonardo Lionheart had found just a smidge of courage, and now Ruby could leave this to him.

"Good. Argus will need support taking in so many. And if you can convince the council to help…" she said, standing outside under the new dawn.

"I'll try, but the gangs basically own them. I doubt we'll see any progress there…"

She sighed. Then spotted something coming through the air. A ship. "Understood. Do your best."

"Thank you for giving me this chance, Ms Rose…"

The line closed and Ruby pocketed her scroll as the Manta came in to land. It took a while for the doors to open, revealing Pietro and a slowly walking Penny. Ruby smiled and dashed over, hugging Penny. "I'm glad to see you!" she mumbled into Penny's neck.

"Ruby… I am glad to see you too…" Penny replied, her arms slowly coming around to hug Ruby back.

Pietro smiled. "I wish this was under better circumstances…"

Ruby nodded and pulled back to look at the inventor. "So? What happened to the virus?"

"It's still there. I can't get rid of the damned thing, but I think I've bought Penny enough time for your plan… I had to institute some blocks that are slowing her down though. Please, avoid fighting. She won't be able to keep up…"

"Father…" Penny grimaced.

"I promise," Ruby agreed. "I won't let anyone hurt her."

Penny frowned. "Ruby… this plan… it might not work…"

"It will work. I won't let it fail." Ruby wouldn't let her go. Not again.

But Penny wasn't satisfied. "Ruby promise me… that if it comes to it, you'll kill me. So I can give you this power."

"No! I won't lose you! You promised to be by my side!" Her grip on Penny tightened.

"I know… I want to be. But… if something happens… I don't want to lose this. To make you suffer more. So… at least promise me that you'll let me save you…"

Tears began to fall from both of their eyes. Ruby bit her lip. "... I won't lose you. But… I guess… if I have to… I'll take your power…" It was a promise she didn't ever want to keep. A promise she would rather discard. But… a part of her knew she had to be ready for the chance.

Penny nodded. "Okay… then I'm ready."

Pietro wiped tears from his eyes. "Penny… I won't be able to see you for a while… I hope to see you in Vacuo… soon."

"I'll be waiting, Father." Penny smiled. Pietro took one of her hands and squeezed, then did the same for Ruby.

"And you too! I want to see you both safe and sound!" He smiled a warm smile. Ruby felt tears well up again. Something about it was so welcoming, so caring, so cosy. It reminded her of when her dad smiled when she was young.

A flash. A memory. Taiyang and Summer, smiling at her and Yang. They were around the table, eating freshly baked cookies. It was so warm, so friendly.

Maybe… I can reach that again.

It wouldn't be the same, never could be. But something similar…

"I'll make sure of it, Pietro," she promised. And this promise, she intended to keep, no matter what.

They said their goodbyes and he clambered back into the ship. He and Maria would be piloting Amity away to safety. After what Jaune and the others had reported, there was no guarantee that Salem couldn't somehow… laser beam it out of the sky. The safety of world-wide communication was too important.

Ruby and Penny watched the Manta fly away, standing side by side. Ruby reached down and took Penny's hand in hers. "Penny… let's save everyone. Including you."

Penny smiled. "Okay."

Deep within the bowels of Atlas, a laboratory was currently home to a pair of bickering men and a rapidly cooling corpse.

"This is a waste of time!" Mercury complained.

"Do you have any better ideas? No? Then shut it. This is our last chance to take the robot. Those children will definitely try to parlay. We can make the machine go wild and rush for the Vault. Then all we need to do is follow it and take the Staff. Got it?" Watts argued back, his patience long gone.

"This is going to go wrong. If that report is right, Salem lost! We need to come up with another plan!"

"Then by all means, come up with one! Until then, I'll work on the only plan we have. Thankfully that fool kept plenty of gear here to use, and I should have a chance to connect to the robot again. So unless you come up with something better, shut up and guard the door!"

"Gah! This is bull!" Mercury growled and paced. This was all going to go wrong, he could feel it. The nerves at the end of his legs were aching. Fuck… if they actually beat Salem like this… is there any point to me working so damned hard? Ugh… if Emerald were here, we'd have a much easier time. Shit, when did I start relying on her and her Semblance?

His foot restlessly tapped against the floor.

If this plan didn't work… he was out.

I ain't gonna die for that bitch. Or for this ass. Nuh-uh. Fuck that.

He was going to live, damn it.

A/N: The Ruby stuff made this take a while. Funnily enough, trying to get into that kind of headspace to be accurate lowers my motivation to write lol. Ah well. We're closing in on the end now. How will it all turn out?

I hope you all enjoyed, and I'll see you next time.