The group that had gathered was quite the sight. Ruby had started her journey to Minstrel as part of a team of four. Now she stood amongst what could only be considered a small army. Team RWBY was reunited alongside the remains of Team JNPR. They had Qrow and Oscar, Sun and Ilia, Blake's parents and an assortment of faunus who had come to stop Adam and his White Fang.

Blake was standing with her parents. She'd had little chance to speak with them since the battle and it seemed it would be a while until she could do so again.

"Are you sure about this?" Kali said with a concerned voice that mothers across the known universe used when worried about a child.

"I'm sure. Salem needs to be stopped. I won't run away from that responsibility," Blake answered with more confidence than she felt.

Ghira rested a broad hand on her shoulder. "We're proud of you, Blake. You've really grown into a strong young woman." He scratched his chin with his other hand, a look of pride on his face. "There were talks last night of electing a new leader for the White Fang. There was a lot of votes for you to take up the role."

"Really?" she asked in genuine surprise. "I'm not a leader. I'm nowhere close to being one. I work best in the background."

"That might be true right now, but give it a few years and I think you'll make a fine chieftain. It isn't all about glory and flashy speeches. Sometimes, being able to listen and observe are vital for guiding your people. That's why we must return to Menagerie. Our people came here to stop Adam. They didn't sign up for a magical war. It will take time to convince them that the danger will come to them eventually. But for now, we go home and rebuild what Adam has torn asunder."

Kali placed a delicate hand on her husband's broad arm. Her eyes didn't stray from Blake though. "There is so much that your father's duty demands of him, but just know that if you ever need us we'll come to you. Be it for a shoulder to cry on, or an enemy to break." She paused and her voice quivered. "Stay safe, okay."

Blake crossed the small distance between them and hugged her parents. "I can't guarantee anything, but I have some pretty good friends watching my back."

Weiss watched the display from nearby. She longed for a moment like that with her family. She felt tears sting at her eyes and angrily wiped them away. There was a good chance she would see her parents soon, though she expected a starkly different reunion.

She felt a presence by her shoulder and turned to see Ruby.

"As your noble leader, I command that you turn that frown upside down."

Weiss sighed softly. "You know, I've always lived in fear of my father. Mother turned to drink and faded into the background of my life and Winter left home for the military. I grew up thinking I had everything I could ever want, but now I know I was missing the most important thing."

"You still have the chance to get it. I cherished the time I had with my mum but she's gone now. And you've seen how good the relationship is with Yang's mum. We've still got our dad though. You still have time to get through to yours. When we get to Atlas you'll just have to knock some sense into them."

"I wish I could, but I don't think it will be that easy."

"You'll never know if you don't try."

Weiss didn't answer. She stared forlornly at the floor, the grip on her Myrtenaster tightening.

XXX

Qrow strode through the crowd with his peculiar birdlike walk. He sighed and drank deeply from his flask. He was used to working alone and now he found himself leading a group of kids. He glanced at all their faces as he passed with a haunted look in his eyes. "I'm gonna need something stronger," he muttered to himself as he finished off his flask.

He directed himself towards Oscar, or more specifically Ozpin, and stood beside him. "Everything's ready. What's your plan? Atlas isn't a place we can move freely around like here. It's all rules, regulations and procedures. They don't much like us either. I can't imagine anyone there being particularly helpful."

Ozpin's words spilled from the younger man's mouth. "Ironwood and I had our differences but I believe he is ultimately loyal. The world is changing but as long as he has retained power there then we should have an in. We just have to hope that Salem doesn't have one too."

"If you say so," Qrow shrugged. He raised his voice. "Listen up. We leave in five."

He turned to see Ghira approaching him. Qrow was tall, despite his perpetual stoop, but the faunus man towered over him.

"Look after Blake. Look after all of them. They are strong but still have a lot to learn. I'd like to see them live long enough to do so."

"You and me both."

Ghira nodded then returned to his ragtag army of faunus. With a final smile aimed at Blake he lead them away. Kali split off as they passed, veering towards the shining gold that was Yang's hair.

"You must be Yang. Blake spoke a lot about you. About what happened. She seems so much happier now that she's returned to you girls. You all mean the world to her, no matter what her distant demeanor might suggest."

"I know," Yang said with a small grin. "Our dad told us to treat everyone we cared for as one big family. We might fight and fall out but we will always have each other's backs. As the big sister, it's my responsibility to keep everyone safe, whatever the cost."

"Your father sounds like a wise man. It seems my Blake is lucky when it comes to finding friends. An inner fire burns within you. I know you will keep her safe, just try not to burn yourself out, okay."

Yang nodded. "Okay."

Kali cast a final look back towards her daughter then jogged after her husband. With the faunus army now gone, the students stood alone outside of the hanger. Qrow gathered them up and lead them inside. The plane within was large and sleek, a private aircraft for a wealthy businessman. The group slowed, the prospect of their departure fully setting in now that it was before their eyes.

"Do we really have to go already?" Nora protested. "I only discovered a super awesome restaurant this morning and they said I could have a free meal. Free food!"

"Look, I know everyone's tired but events are moving too fast for us to sit back and catch our breath. We won the battle at the school but the war's only just begun." He took another mouthful of alcohol. "Now listen, none of you are here on obligation. You can all leave now without any less being thought of you. Vale is still weakened. It would be lucky to have huntsmen and huntresses like you there right now. I need you all to understand the danger we are walking into. You've already seen the shallows of it. If you step on this plane then you are committing to fighting Salem in any way that Ozpin commands."

Ruby stepped up onto the ramp leading to the plane's entrance. "This fight is going to reach us sooner or later whatever we do, isn't it? I'm just one girl, but if I can spare a single person from the loss and fear we've seen then I'd be happy."

Yang joined her, draping an arm across her sister's shoulders in a supportive hug. "Where Ruby goes, I go."

Blake and Weiss shared a look and nodded before stepping up together. "Same." Within seconds Nora, Ren, Jaune, Sun and Illia had joined them.

"Okay then," Qrow confirmed. "Lets get onboard. Time's wasting and the minibar won't tent to itself.

They piled in to find fancy leather seats, potted plants, and plenty of room for all of them. It was a level of luxury that most of them had never known.

"Ya know, suddenly this isn't looking like such a bad idea," said Nora as she eyed the well stocked minibar that Qrow had already set up camp at.

There was a burst of static then the pilot's voice spoke through several speakers. "If everyone's on then we'll be lifting off now. I'm on a tight schedule, and while it's an honour getting to transport local heroes, duty cally as they say. We should reach our destination in the small hours of the morning so feel free to get some rest."

The speakers cut off, replaced by the rumbling of the engine starting. Ruby moved to a window and watched as the ground grew further away. She wondered vaguely if this was how Qrow felt every time he became a bird. Mistral glittered below them, the multi-coloured roofs and lush green forests looking all the more beautiful. She wished that she had had more time to really explore the city. Thinking about it, she wished that she'd had a lot more time with lots of things since the fall of Beacon.

She wandered over to the front row of seats and settled down. Sleep hadn't been easy after the battle, then anticipation and anxiety of heading off immediately to Atlas had had similar effects last night. A similar weariness was present on almost everyone's faces. At the end of the day they were still just kids who were in over their heads.

Closing her eyes, Ruby tried to give in to slumber.

XXX

"Who are these people?" Emerald rasped. From her knees she stared wide eyed into a large chamber filled with tubes and tanks where humanoid figures floated. Some were clearly men and women, some grimm. Others, well, it was harder to say what they were. And there, in the centre of it all was a large block of glass held between whirring machines with a slender shape trapped within.

"Is that…? It can't be." She stood and ran into the room, skidding to a halt before the contraption. "Cinder!"

There were no obvious signs of life. She floated in an amber liquid, her body sheathed in a red ribbon that wrapped around her from neck to foot. The skin on her face was pale and gaunt and her good eye was closed.

Salem appeared at her side. "Maidens are surprisingly resilient. It seems that as she fell she channelled all of her aura around her vital organs. Her body was shattered on impact but her organs were protected. She is alive, but only just. No bone is unbroken. She has turned herself into a prisoner within her own body. She is in constant agony yet cannot even express it. Better to have let herself die, wouldn't you say."

Tears streamed down Emerald's face. She placed her hands on the glass.

"Why did you bring me here?"

Salem smiled. It was not a gesture of kindness or humour. "I have a decision to place in your hands. Cinder is useless to me as she is. There are two options. She could be saved. All of these tubes are connected. Each of them contains a life. They are my experiments but they have their own dreams and ambitions. If you pull that switch just there then their auras will be torn from them and forced into Cinder, boosting her healing enough to restore her body to a semblance of its former self. In time, perhaps her full strength will return to her."

Emerald took a step towards the switch without thinking. Salem stilled her with a slight gesture of her hand. "The second choice is to kill her. End her suffering and claim the powers of the Fall Maiden yourself. Use those powers to take revenge on those that did this to her. You know that you cannot do it with your current abilities. Use these creatures as your army. They are each akin to Cinder. She was the prototype. The first success. Imagine the strength you could wield with a hundred men and women at your side with powers equal to those of Cinder before she became a maiden."

"Cinder was one of these?"

"Correct. She was an urchin child filled with anger and hate. I saw the potential in her and gave her the strength to follow her ambitions. Each of these souls has a similar story. The world is all about balance, child. Good and evil. Light and dark. Life and death. Love and hate. Humanity and grimm. I seek to unify these extremes to create the perfect world."

Emerald stared at the older woman in disbelief. She turned, looking deeply into the corpse-like face of Cinder as her hands enclosed on the lever.

"I… I have to save her. I owe her everything. These other people, I don't know them. I don't care about them. I-" She clamped her mouth shut. Her hands were trembling but she forced them to pull at the lever.

Lights and sounds filled the chamber as machines went into overdrive. Electricity danced and liquid frothed. She saw the shapes in the tubes writhe and thrash before falling silent. Golden light pulsed into Cinder's pod until her body glowed too brightly to look at.

"Not the choice I would have made but a decision made with resolution all the same. This day marks a turning point in history, Emerald. Watts will take care of the thorns in our sides and you will learn a valuable lesson. Cherish the moment."

Emerald wasn't listening though. The light was fading until Cinder could once again be seen within. The amber liquid drained away but the woman still floated, held in place by unseen magic or technology. She stood motionless for a moment, then her eye snapped open.

Then came the screams.

XXX

Ruby had just begun to doze off when the airship shuddered violently. In an instant she was on her feet. An alarm started to wail. Another thud shook the vessel.

"They're shooting at us!" shouted Sun from one of the windows. "Atlas airships of some kind."

Qrow was already at the door. "Lay down some firepower and protect the plane. She ain't designed for fighting." He twisted the seal and the door flew open. Wind tore through the aisle. "And try not to hit me."

He stepped forward and was ripped into the jetstream. Ruby ran to the door in time to see him change into a bird and dart straight for the attacking airships. There was six of them and they all looked heavily armed. She extended Crescent Rose and took aim.

Qrow weaved between trails of bullets until he was almost on top of the first ship then transformed back into a man, his scythe already sweeping down to slash at the front visor. Then he was a crow again, corkscrewing around to transform again and hook his blade onto the wing. Again and again he swooped around the ships but their armour was too thick.

Loud crashes marked where sniper rounds made impact, jolting the aircraft but not fully piercing their hulls. Qrow risked a quick look back at the plane and saw the students doing what they could to defend it. A large glyph hung in the air, soaking up most of the bullets, but it was already weakening.

He had to act quickly. Qrow pulled out his scroll as he ran along the top of a ship. "Ruby. Concentrate your fire on the second ship to the left. See if you can knock it a little to the right."

"On it, Uncle Qrow."

Bullets slammed into the ship he'd pointed out. Qrow leapt across to the aircraft just below it. Another volley and it was right above him. He swung his scythe into its underside, the blade biting into the metal a few inches. He breathed deeply, his aura shimmering across his arms and legs. He roared as muscles strained then ran forward, dragging the airship along with him. As he ran he arced the scythe in a mighty slash that pulled the plane down into another ship to their side. Metal scraped and crunched then exploded in a great gout of flame as the two vessels collided.

Qrow sucked in ragged breaths as he swayed where he stood. "I'm getting too old for this," he heaved. Exhaustion gained the better of him and he collapsed. His body slide off the aircraft only to be caught in a tornado of petals.

Ruby grabbed hold of him then angled her cape so that it caught the heat from the crashed airships. The hot air made it puff up, boosting her higher into the air. Using it like a glider she manoeuvred herself back towards their plane. With Qrow's added weight though they wouldn't make it.

A hand caught her by the wrist. It was Sun, actually several Suns, each holding onto the other in a long monkey chain. Yang and Blake stood at the doorway and helped pull them all back aboard.

There was a crash and Weiss collapsed. The light from her glyph vanished. Now the plane shook violently as the enemy bullets finally began to find their mark.

The speakers strained to be heard over the chaos. "I can't get us out of this. She isn't built for combat. Left engine is out. We-"

The pilot's voice was cut off, only to be replaced by the voice of an older man who spoke in an overly refined manner.

"Good evening Ozpin and company. I am Doctor Watts and I'm afraid I will be bringing your flight to a rather abrupt halt. You see, that fool Cinder was too cocky. The best way to dispose of a pest is to kill it when it can't fight back. It isn't honourable and there is no glory but it gets the job done. I am a practical man after all. Tatty-bye now."

There was a sound so loud that the world became silent. Fire blossomed into a flower of carnage as missiles blasted through the plane's hull. Metal screeched and everything was thrown up and across, hitting walls or the roof as the plane split it two.

Through the fire and smoke, Ruby saw the back end of the plane spiral away. She caught a glimpse of vivid golden hair.

"Yang!"

There was another explosion and the front half of the ship lurched. There was no sound from the engine any more.

"Engines are dead. I've not got control. Brace for impact!" screamed the pilot.

Weiss pulled herself up, holding the wall to support herself. "If we hit the water at this speed then we'll all be dead. I won't let that happen."

She ran to the still open door and vaulted up onto the roof. Ruby cast her eyes around the remains of the room. Ren was unconscious, his body wedged between two seats while Blake tended to Ilia who was bleeding from a cut across her forehead. Oscar was hanging on to the edge where the plane had split. She rushed to help him. There was no sign of Qrow, Nora, Jaune or Sun. She hoped beyond hope that they were all in the back end of the plane with Yang. At least then they stood a chance.

Above them, Weiss planted her feet on the nose of the plane and mustered all of her remaining strength. She flourished her blade then stabbed it into the metal before her feet. A giant white glyph appeared ahead of them. The ship hit it and was propelled forward. Another and another appeared, each angled slightly to keep the plane from descending to earth. Each boost threatened to shake the ship's remains apart but Weiss stood firm. Sweat drenched her skin. He teeth were clenched painfully.

Blake forced her way to Weiss' side, each step a battle against the raging wind.

"Weiss! Your body can't take much more of this!" Even shouting, her voice hardly crossed the short distance.

"I have to! I'm the only one who can. I just need to hold on a little bit longer. I can see land."

Weiss was right. Grey rock was starting to form on the horizon. It was still so far away though.

Weiss dropped to her knees but glyphs continued to guide them, though smaller and less bright with each creation. Her breath caught. Still she didn't stop.

"Keep it together Weiss. You can do this," she hissed breathlessly to herself.

She felt something tear inside her. Pain flashed through her side where Cinder had impaled her. The inside of the wound must not have fully healed yet. She clutched her ribs, black spots appearing in her vision. A final glyph appeared but it sputtered out of existence before the plane met it. Her consciousness gave out and she flew back, only to be caught by Blake.

Without the glyphs keeping her steady, the plane twisted and began to nosedive. Blake watched the sea approach, but also the barren land just ahead. They were so close.

Rose petals rose up in a cyclone around them. The ship caught in the unnatural gale and bobbed slightly through the sky. Ruby emerged from the petals and crashed down beside her teammates.

Now they were over land but still falling too fast. Blake wrapped her arms around Weiss and Ruby as the side of a mountain reared up in their path. There was one final, thunderous crash, then there was only darkness.

XXX

A/N: I managed to finish up chapter 2 in time to upload on the three year anniversary of Monty's death. He was a true inspiration to me who helped form my sense of writing style and the combat therein.

It is so true that it is through our creations that we transcend death. As long as people still enjoy that which you created then you never really fade from their hearts.

In the words of Kamina: A real man never dies, even when he's killed.

(On the topic of creative endevours - Do you like monsters? Magic? Bacon? Then check out my book, Thorns of the Shadow: Blood, Blades and Bacon.)

-FWF