Well, we're back with the first of the December chapters of "Reality". I have to say, I'm glad to be working with TerrorKing10 on this. His feedback has really helped and I'm hoping that more people will get to check out his content. Seriously, he deserves some attention.
Anyways, when we last left off, there was quite the cliffhanger with Ruby and the others discovering that Penny and Jenny had seemingly fallen out from the sky. Meanwhile, Yang's team is about to embark on their rescue mission to get Oscar back. So many things are happening, but there's more to come!
So welcome back to "Reality"!
REALITY
Sometimes, darkness can corrupt and change a person… They may act opposite of their true selves. There are many instances of that with those of the Omni Force for sure.
But while they were pulled back from the darkness, can the same be said for those that have gone too deep? Or those that have been pulled in so suddenly? Well, they've done it before. So I only hope that they can again…
The rumbling throughout the compound unnerved Qrow more than it normally would've. He and Robyn were inside a storage room, with Raven handing the Happy Huntresses' leader her folded crossbow, allowing her to set it onto her arm. The Spring Maiden looked over to her brother, who was staring at the unoccupied security monitors, seeing the Grimm raging about Atlas.
"James…" he growled out, balling his hands into fists, "Why did you let this happen…?" he wondered aloud, clenching his eyes shut.
"Hey," his sister chimed in, getting his attention, "cut the shit," she remarked, tossing him his Harbinger, which he caught in his right hand, "We need to move," she insisted, starting to walk toward the door.
"Wait, hold on," Robyn said, making her stop and let out a sigh.
"What is it now?" she grumbled in question.
"What if something happens here at the compound?" the Happy Huntresses' leader inquired, "Like maybe someone comes to get Watts?" she suggested. Qrow blinked in realization, remembering what the former Atlesian scientist had alluded to earlier about escaping.
"Yeah, good thinking," he replied, taking a tight grip on his Harbinger, "You go on ahead, Raven," he insisted of his sister, "We'll take care of things here," he assured.
"Tch," she scoffed, drawing her Omen and slashing open a red portal, "If you get caught again, I'm not saving you," she muttered as she was about to walk into the vortex.
"Raven?" her brother uttered, causing her to glance back at him curiously, "…Thank you," he said with gratitude. She blinked in surprise, but then turned away.
"You can thank me by staying alive," she responded, walking into the portal, which disappeared a moment later.
"Huh…" Qrow sighed.
"So…" Robyn chimed in, getting his attention, "your sister, huh?" she noted.
"Yeah, she's a real piece of work…" the huntsman grumbled, "But she's… different from the last time I saw her…" he admitted, narrowing his eyes curiously.
"Different how?" the Happy Huntresses' leader wondered, raising an eyebrow. A sudden rumble got their attentions before Qrow could respond, followed by the sound of a blast.
"Come on!" he called out, hurrying out of the room as Robyn followed. So much was still happening around Atlas. And there was only more confusion to come…
X
"Penny… can you hear me…?!"
"I must…"
"Just hold on… We're almost there…!"
"I must go…"
"Penny, wait! What are you doing?!"
"I must go to the Vault…"
"Penny, stop! You can't!"
"I must go to the Vault and…"
"PENNY!"
The robotic tone of the Winter Maiden's voice echoed in Jenny's head as she slowly started to regain consciousness. A lot happened between the night of Amity Tower's launch to now. The teenage robot could hardly hear any voices around her as her blurred vision was focused on Penny, who lied beside her as the neon green coolant in her body leaked into the crater they lied in.
"Penny…" she uttered, reaching out to her.
"Jenny, are you okay?! What happened?!" Ruby screamed in question as she slid down the crater alongside Peter and Tifa.
"Looks like they're both in bad shape…" the web-slinger noted with a grimace. Weiss and Blake slid down into the crater, widening their eyes at the sight of how damaged both robot girls were.
"Penny…" Jenny uttered, reaching out to the Winter Maiden again.
"Can she even hear us?" the cat Faunus wondered worriedly.
"Hold on a sec…" Peter said, adjusting the web shooter at his right wrist before aiming it down at his fellow Omni Force member. He fired a web line that attached to her side, unleashing a jolt of electricity onto her. It coursed through her body before her eyes suddenly widened.
"AH!" she gasped, breathing rapidly as if she had just woken up from a nightmare.
"Hey, it worked!" the web-slinger realized with a laugh, earning himself an elbow from Weiss, "Ah," he uttered in faux-pain, "Okay, maybe I should've explained before I tried that…" he realized sheepishly. Ruby crouched down beside the panicked robot girl.
"Jenny, are you okay?" she asked, getting her attention, "What the hell happened with you and Penny?" she questioned on. Her fellow Omni Force member looked around in bewilderment, trying to calm down. And then she saw the unconscious Winter Maiden, along with the coolant leaking out of her body.
"Penny…" she uttered in a whimper, lowering her head as she sobbed. The silver-eyed huntress looked at her worriedly. Meanwhile, Danny and Whitley were looking into the distance, seeing the dark red storm clouds starting to spread over the manor.
"Uh, guys?" the former called out, getting the attentions of those in the crater, "I think we might wanna head back inside…" he advised.
"Good call," Tifa agreed, crouching down to pick up the unconscious Penny, "Oof…" she grunted, "She's a bit of a heavy one…" she admitted.
"I'll help," Ruby affirmed, standing up and approaching.
"Me too," Blake chimed in as she walked over. Back in the manor, Nora started to awaken as she slowly opened her eyes. Her vision was blurred as she groaned, blinking a couple times before lifting up her left arm. She could see her scars and the I.V. that was plugged into it. She also found that she was lying in a bed.
"No need to worry, Miss," Klein's voice assured, getting her attention as she turned her head to her left to find the doctor there, adjusting the medical tube for the I.V. "You and your friend are going to be just fine," he promised, glancing down at her with friendly brown eyes, while her vision was fully restored. She let out a deep breath, followed by turning to the sound of an opening door. Standing there was Blake, who moved aside for Ruby, Tifa and surprisingly, Whitley to enter the room, carrying the unconscious Penny. Following them in were Danny, Peter, and Jenny.
"She lost consciousness," the cat Faunus confirmed to the former butler, "And she's… leaking…" she mentioned, referring to the green coolant that dripped from the Winter Maiden's body.
"Set her down, set her down," Klein advised repeatedly. The trio carrying Penny set her onto a cot that was next to Nora's bed. The SDC heir grimaced at the green coolant that stained his clothes. Ruby and Tifa did the same.
"Looks like you guys could use a quick wash," Peter remarked.
"We'll worry about that later, Peter," the silver-eyed huntress affirmed in reply, turning to Klein, "Can you help her?" she asked of him. He started scanning her with a Scroll tablet as his eyes turned red.
"Even based on what you've told me," he began as his device picked up on the injury located at Penny's waist, "I hardly know what she is…" he grumbled. He then cleared his throat with a cough, followed by letting his eyes turn from red to brown, "But… her basic anatomy seems similar enough," he confirmed to the group, "I can at least stitch up that wound," he assured to them. At that moment, a thundery crash sounded off from outside. Everyone present glanced towards the windows, seeing the bright flash of lightning from the dark red clouds.
"I'm so sorry…" Jenny whimpered apologetically, seated by the fireplace as she sobbed. Ruby glanced off to the side for a moment in thought before approaching her. She crouched down to her eye level, giving her a sympathetic look.
"Jenny…" she uttered, getting her attention, "I know you would never let anything happen to Penny unless it was out of your control…" she affirmed, "So please, tell us what happened," she requested. Taking a deep breath to calm herself, the teenaged robot looked to the silver-eyed girl and her other friends.
"We were about to launch Amity into the air…" she recalled, "but then Cinder showed up…" she noted, much to the surprise of her colleagues, who all gasped, "She attacked the tower, and Penny and I were working together to protect it, along with Pietro, Maria, and Carla," she continued on.
"Cinder…" Ruby snarled, only for Peter to approach and put a hand onto her shoulder, enticing her to calm down.
"The message still got out, though," he remembered, "Not all of it, but…" he mentioned, glancing off to the side for a moment.
"What happened?" Blake asked as she approached.
"Cinder's attack damaged one of the stabilizers for the tower that would've kept it in the air," Jenny explained in reply, "Despite Pietro telling us it was too risky, Penny and I went out and pushed the tower up into the broadcast range," she told the group, "And then…" she continued, trembling a little as she shook her head, "Something happened to Penny…" she said, "She started falling from the tower, and I flew after her…" she recollected to everyone's surprise, "I tried to catch her and…" she kept going.
"And… what?" Danny inquired out of concern.
"…She attacked me," the teenage robot replied to everyone's collective shock as they glanced back at Penny, "I tried to get her to stop and fly both of us back to wherever you guys were, but…" she continued, "she kept saying the same thing over and over about going to the Vault…" she told everyone.
"Wait… the Vault?" Ruby repeated in confusion.
"What was she saying about the Vault?" Peter asked. Jenny tensed up.
"She was saying… that she had to go to the Vault…" she began to respond, "open it…" she kept going as her body trembled, "and then… self-terminate…" she finished. Everyone widened their eyes in astonishment, looking back at Penny again.
"Self…terminate?" Danny repeated aloud.
"That definitely doesn't sound like something she'd do…" Blake noted with a shake of her head.
"From the way you phrased it, it kinda sounds like a… command for a machine…" Tifa pointed out as she approached.
"Like she was hacked…" Weiss inferred, putting her gloved hand onto her chin, "But how…?" she wondered. At that moment, Peter widened his eyes.
"The sword…" he uttered in realization.
"Huh?" Danny said, sounding confused.
"The Ace-Ops snatched one of Penny's swords when we trying to escape the military compound the other day," the web-slinger explained, "She said it wasn't anything for us to worry about, so we still just booked it," he recalled on, "But I guess she was wrong…" he realized. Ruby looked back at the unconscious Winter Maiden, whose injury was being patched by Klein carefully.
"How'd she get hurt?" she inquired on, "Was it Cinder?" she assumed, looking back to Jenny.
"The burns and scrapes on her body, yeah," she confirmed in reply, "But… the hole in her body?" she noted, lowering her head, "That was me…" she confessed sadly to everyone's surprise, "Between her repeating the same thing, she was… begging me to stop her…" she remembered, trembling again as her eyes watered, "I didn't have a choice…!" she sobbed out, "I just…" she tried to continue, burying her face into her hands. Her colleagues looked at her worriedly. Blake walked over and put a hand onto her shoulder.
"We're here for you, Jenny," she assured, giving her a warm hug. At that moment, another thundery crash rang out, louder than the last one as everyone in the room flinched. The lights in the room started to flicker before the power suddenly went out.
"Oh, that's just rich…" Whitley grumbled out, earning an eye roll from Danny. Ruby felt her Scroll buzz in her pocket. She took it out and answered whoever was calling.
"Everyone okay back there?" May's voice inquired over the line, "We just saw another bombing run light up the kingdom!" she confirmed to the group. The silver-eyed girl glanced out the window.
"Looks like part of the city lost power," she responded, "We're okay though," she assured to the Happy Huntress. Elsewhere, Obi-Wan was piloting the stolen Manta through the sky filled with clashing Grimm and Atlesian aircrafts. Thankfully, the ship was veiled thanks to May's Semblance, with no one able to see it from the outside.
"Sorry we couldn't stick around, but time's running out for everyone in the crater," she apologized to Ruby, seated in the co-pilot's seat, while Genji and Kim stood behind her and the Jedi.
"No, we're sorry…" Ruby apologized in response, "Once we know what's wrong with Penny, we'll…" she tried to say, "we'll do something…" she promised. At that moment, the group aboard the Manta saw an explosion ring out nearby, grimly watching a distant Tempest to their right tear apart an Atlesian airship.
"Don't beat yourself up, kid…" May insisted, "At this point… I don't know how much is left to be done…" she admitted over the line.
"We'll keep you guys posted on how things in Mantle are going," Kim promised, "Focus on helping Penny and Nora first," she insisted of the group, "We're gonna get through this," she affirmed on.
"Indeed," Genji agreed. The call ended. Ruby solemnly looked away, starting to tear up.
"It's all just… too much…" she pointed out, enticing Weiss to put a reassuring hand onto her left shoulder, "The Grimm, the crater, Nora, Penny…" she listed off sadly, "How do we fix all of it?" she asked of her friends. All of a sudden, Klein sneezed, getting their attentions. His eyes had turned light blue.
"One step at a time, my dear…" he requested, shivering before letting out another sneeze. His eyes returned to brown. "You can't worry about fixing everything," he pointed out to her and the rest of the group, "Simply focus on what's in front of you," he advised, "If you'd like some place to start, I'd be able to work faster if you could bring the power back on," he told them, pointing up at the inactive lights.
"Well, how would we—?"
"We have a generator near the edge of the estate…" Willow Schnee's voice suddenly chimed in, getting the group's attention as they saw her leaning against the doorframe. She had a bottle of vodka in her left hand. An awkward moment passed before Whitley huffed, crossing his arms over his chest.
"So kind of you to join us, Mother…" he sarcastically grumbled.
"Believe it or not, I am above drinking in the dark…" she remarked in response.
"How about drinking at all?" Peter quietly questioned, earning himself another elbowing to his head from Weiss, "Ow!" he yelped. Meanwhile, Willow perked up upon noticing Klein in the room.
"Oh…" she uttered, "Hello… Klein…" she greeted awkwardly. The doctor gave his former employer a silent nod in reply.
"So this generator…" Tifa chimed in, changing the subject as she looked over to Weiss.
"SDC executives have their own auxiliary power supplies… in case of a city-wide blackout," she explained to the group, "It's… extremely unfair…" she admitted, while her brother looked out the window solemnly for a moment, "but perhaps now isn't such a bad time for company perks…" she quipped.
"Hey, I'm the quipping guy around here," Peter argued, earning an eye roll from the ex-heiress. Meanwhile, Whitley blinked in realization upon what his sister had said. Though she seemed to dismiss it as a joke, he came to an epiphany.
"We… don't just have perks," he pointed out.
"Hm?" his sister uttered in confusion as everyone looked to him.
"We have the company," he noted as he stepped forward, "The people you mentioned in the crater, they need a way out, right?" he assumed, "There are rows and rows of cargo ships just sitting in the hangars because of the embargo," he told them.
"And our own automated drones, like the ones at Snow Shoe Shipping!" Weiss added, realizing where her brother was going with this.
"We can order as many as we need to pilot our ships down to the crater and get people to safety, while the Grimm are occupied with the general's forces," he explained on.
"We can?" Blake questioned.
"I can," Whitley corrected in reply, "I just need Father's computer," he confirmed, bringing his hands together underneath his chin in thought.
"Then we definitely need to get the power back on," Ruby affirmed, smiling a little.
"Then what are we waiting for?" Peter asked, getting their attentions as they saw standing at the opened window in a crouched position, throwing on his mask, "Meetcha' there!" he remarked before shooting a web line and swinging off.
"Ugh…" Weiss groaned, "Does he always have to do that?" she grumbled in question.
"Better to be optimistic," Blake said, "I'm gonna go, too," she decided, "Anyone else coming?" she inquired of the group.
"I'll go," Ruby replied.
"Same," Tifa said as she put her hands onto her hips, "Kinda get the feeling we'll need a bit of muscle to get through all this," she noted with a grin.
"Guess that means we'll stay with Whitley and make sure the order gets through once the power's back," Danny assumed, sharing a grin with Weiss.
"I don't need my sister or her boyfriend hovering over me…" the SDC heir muttered in response. Weiss sighed, while Danny blushed a little.
"What about you, Jenny?" Ruby asked of the teenage robot, who was still seated by the fireplace.
"I'll… stay here in case Penny wakes up…" she responded, "And I'll give an update to May and the others about our plan…" she assured, pulling out her Scroll.
"Okay, let's go," Tifa beckoned, jumping out the window with Blake and Ruby to follow, while Weiss, Danny and Whitley jogged out of the room. As Jenny accessed her Scroll, Willow sat down drunkenly at a mirror, downing more of her vodka. Klein sighed silently before turning to attend to the groaning Nora. Things were still a bit grim. And they were about to get worse…
X
"What took you so long?" Peter called out in question to Ruby, Blake, and Tifa, who sprinted over to the gates that led to the power shed where he was.
"Stop it," the silver-eyed huntress said with a teasing grin, making him chuckle. The bar hostess pushed the gates open, allowing for her and the others to enter. They made their way inside, closing the door behind them. After looking around for a few moments, Ruby threw down a lever, making the backup generator hum to life. The screen lit up, with a progress bar slowly filling as the words 'STARTUP SEQUENCE POWER BACKUP' could be seen on the display. "Oh, come on, come on…" the silver-eyed girl pleaded.
"Don't worry," Blake assured to her, "It'll work," she affirmed with a smile.
"Nothing else has…" Ruby grumbled out in response. The cat Faunus understood her concern. She shared it even. Ever since Ben had left, things hadn't gone as smoothly as she would've expected them to. It wasn't that she blamed him. It was just that the lack of his presence really changed things for the group, especially her. But she knew that she needed to be that voice of reassurance in his place.
"I know you don't always know what to do," she began to tell Ruby, getting her attention, "but that's never stopped you from doing something," she pointed out, "I was like that as a girl," she noted on, "but time and… a lot of other things, took their toll on me," she admitted, "Then I wasn't sure if that kind of girl could actually survive in the world…" she confessed on, "until I met you," she confirmed to her team leader with a smile, "It was a little strange at first because you were younger, but…" she continued, "I've always looked up to you, Ruby," she said, "And I still do," she added. The silver-eyed huntress started to tear up again, though more out of reassurance than sadness.
"Huh…" she sighed out, "Thanks, Blake…" she said with gratitude. At that very moment, the progress bar on the generator's display filled up completely, making the screen itself flash.
"Yes!" Peter exclaimed with a pump of his fist. Inside the manor, power was fully restored. Whitley, Weiss and Danny were in the study. The moment the power had come back, the SDC heir quickly moved to access his father's computer, typing on the keyboard as the others looked on.
"Guess now we should focus on making sure the order gets through," Tifa decided back in the power shed.
"Yeah, good—" Peter stopped himself, widening his eyes in alarm.
"Peter…?" Ruby uttered, giving off a confused look. Meanwhile, Blake's ears suddenly droop as her own expression turned to one of shock, regarding something behind her team leader. "What? What is it?" she asked, slightly frightened by her friends' sudden changes in demeanor. Through a window behind her, a flash of lightning unveiled the silhouette of a familiar creature. Tifa noticed and gasped.
"Get down!" she yelled, tackling the silver-eyed huntress aside as the glass shattered, with the figure entering. Peter took a ready stance, while Blake drew the katana of her Gambol Shroud from her back. The figure was the Hound, who growled lowly as it opened its mouth.
Back in Weiss' bedroom, Klein and Willow were waiting uneasily, sitting by a glass table. All of a sudden, a distant shatter of glass had them startled. Jenny immediately stood up as she heard it.
"What was that?" she asked, looking back to those at the table. The doctor shook his head, while his former employer reached for her bottle. Another loud crash rang out, causing her to hesitate. But she still grabbed the bottle. In the study, Weiss perked up as she heard her communicator ping.
"Ruby! Blake! Peter!" she called out over the line.
"Weiss!" the cat Faunus responded, "There's a Grimm that—! Look out!" she suddenly screamed, interjecting herself. The transmission followed with sounds of clashing and tumbling, causing the ex-heiress to step aside. As Danny walked over to her, he saw a gasp of red breath leave his lips, which she noticed.
"Well, that confirms that," she realized, looking over to her brother, as he was still working away on the computer, "Can you handle this?" she asked of him.
"Assuming you can handle that," he remarked back, making her scoff before she and Danny hurried off, with the latter assuming his ghost form as rings of light flowed up and down his body.
"We still need to work on your attitude…" she said to Whitley, while her colleague chuckled.
"I'm starting to like him," he admitted to her surprise. Back outside, Ruby was tossed through a hole in the wall of the power shed, tumbling onto the walkway upon her side as she dropped her Crescent Rose. As she tried to push herself up, she saw Peter fly by her, crashing against the fence in a pained grunt, falling onto his stomach. She widened her eyes, looking back to see the Hound sauntering out from the hole in the power shed, growling lowly. It stood on all four of its limbs, letting out a menacing roar.
Blake rushed in and leapt up, attempting to slash it from the side with her blades. But it took notice, deflecting her away as she landed off to the other side of the walkway, skidding to a stop. However, she only acted as a distraction, allowing Tifa to clock the Grimm's head with a right hook before following with a left uppercut. It swiped her back, followed by lunging towards her and Ruby. The latter quickly burst into a mass of rose petals, snatching the bar hostess and zipping away with her. They landed down beside the cat Faunus, with the silver-eyed huntress taking a firm grip on her Crescent Rose.
"What is this thing?!" she questioned emphatically.
"It's just a Grimm!" Blake assured in response, rushing forward, "Just focus!" she called out in instruction, firing onto the Hound. It roared again, followed by seeing struck by two web lines, which subsequently zapped it. Peter held the lines tight in his hands, trying to pull it back. Meanwhile, Ruby took a deep breath, trying to calm herself before utilizing her Silver Eyes.
The cat Faunus leapt onto the front wall of the power shed, running across it quickly and firing a couple more shots before jumping off to attack. However, the Grimm suddenly grabbed the web lines zapping him, much to the web-slinger's surprise as his eyes widened. He was then yanked over, crashing into Blake as they tumbled aside.
"Guys!" Tifa called out. The Hound then turned towards her and Ruby.
"Take… the girl…" it echoed out ominously, charging at them. The silver-eyed girl gasped, but the bar hostess slid out in front of her, punching the Grimm back powerfully.
"Is it after you or me?" she wondered, glancing back at Ruby. She seemed just as perplexed. Peter and Blake got back onto their feet, with the former firing off a pair of web grenades to attach to the ground beneath the Hound. Before it could make another attempt to pounce on the others, webbing exploded under it, making it stick against the ground as it roared angrily.
"I've got a bad feeling about this…" the web-slinger admitted with narrowed eyes.
"Let's take it out while we've got the chance!" the cat Faunus insisted, rushing forward. Ruby did the same from the opposite side. But all of a sudden, the Hound sprouted newly formed wings from its back, with black, gooey liquid spraying out, splattering onto the ground. It took off, ripping itself free of the webbing.
"Okay… that's way past not normal…" Peter realized. Blake quickly threw her Gambol Shroud out, getting it to wrap around its hind left leg. It tried to yank itself away, but then the web-slinger fired off a web line to attach to its other leg, tugging on it.
"We can't let it get away!" the cat Faunus yelled, piercing her sheath into the ground to tether it. At that moment, Weiss and Danny arrived onto the scene. The latter of the two flew up to fire off ghostly green rays from its hands onto it, while the former put her fingers up to her right ear.
"Klein!" she exclaimed, "There's a Grimm here and others might be nearby," she informed him as he was tending to Penny in the bedroom, while Willow was pouring herself a drink into a glass, "Keep everyone together and call if there's trouble!" she advised.
"Of course," the doctor replied with a nod. Jenny wasn't too worried about her friends dealing with a Grimm altogether, but then noticed that Willow's hands were shaking violently. She lost her grip on the glass and the bottle in them. They shattered against the floor, which didn't do her nerves any favors as she gasped with fright.
"Hey… i-it's okay…" the robot girl stuttered reassuringly as she approached.
"Madame, please try to calm yourself…" Klein advised. Unbeknownst to any of them, Penny's snapped open. Her irises were no longer green, but an ominous red color.
"I…I can't do this. I… can't do this!" Willow repeated in a panic, running out the door.
"Hey, wait!" Jenny called out.
"Willow, please come back!" Klein pleaded, not wanting her to be alone during this whole ordeal. And then, he heard Jenny gasp.
"Oh no…" she uttered out. The former butler turned in surprise to find Penny standing up, turning to her.
"Goodness…" he uttered, "try not to—" Before he could say anything else, the Winter Maiden shoved him aside. He fell against a chair, which clattered to the floor with him.
"Penny, stop!" Jenny yelled, running over to her. Her fellow robot girl turned, taking a step toward her. But then her eyes started to flicker between red and her usual green.
"No… not again!" she screamed as the flames of her Maiden powers flared up. She stumbled back as a whirling air and bright green light filled the room. Jenny watched on worriedly, wondering what she could do.
Back at the power shed, Weiss formed a trio of white glyphs behind herself, launching a barrage of icy projectiles at the airborne Hound, but missed as it managed to move aside. Danny continued to fire ghostly green rays onto it, but they seemed to do little to harm it. He then took a deep breath, ready to unleash a powerful sonic screech onto it. But all of a sudden, a Teryx swooped in and snatched him with its talons, flying off.
"Danny!" the ex-heiress cried out. She gritted her teeth, holding her Myrtenaster up. She moved her fingers down the blade before stabbing her rapier into the ground, creating a large glyph at her feet to call forth a Nevermore summon. However, it was destroyed as Centinels popped out from the ground beneath it, joining the fray. Blake and Peter found themselves momentarily distracted as another Centinel popped up behind them. It lunged out to attack, enticing them to jump away. In doing so, the Hound shook off its tethers, climbing higher into the sky.
"Shit!" the cat Faunus cursed before having to use her sheath to block off the fangs of the centipede Grimm that lunged at her. Tifa rushed in and punched it away. Meanwhile, Ruby looked up at the Hound. It seemed… confused for a moment, looking around and sniffing. Then, it noticed the distant green glow coming from the manor. Ruby glanced back at the coolant staining her clothes.
"It's not here for us, it's here for Penny!" she called out to her teammates.
"Makes sense!" Peter responded as he fired off a taser web to zap a Centinel that tried to lunge at him, reducing it to ashes, "Someone get Jenny on the horn and tell her to get Penny outta here!" he called out in instruction, while Blake slashed the last of the centipede Grimm that had popped up. She and the others watched as the Hound took off for the manor.
"I'll phone ahead!" Weiss called out as she ran off, "Make sure Danny's okay, too!" she insisted additionally, heading through the gates.
"Copy!" the web-slinger replied, firing off a pair of web lines to reel himself up to the roof of the power shed. He looked out to see the half-ghost teen firing off ghostly rays onto the Teryx that had swooped him up, making it let go of him. However, three more joined it, surrounding him from all angles.
"Let's move!" Tifa insisted, enticing Ruby to follow her out of the gates after Weiss. However, landing down in front of them were a pair of winged Beringels, who pounded their chests and roared. Blake gasped upon noticing, about to go and help them. But all of a sudden, a web line attached to her back, yanking her out of the way as the ground burst open. She sat up on the ground as Peter came down and landed beside her, seeing something emerge from the newly created hole.
It was a Grimm with a long, black segmented body. Each segment had a pair of clawed legs and was covered by a protective shell, like a Centinel. The Grimm's head had additional mandibles on the sides of its jaws. It also had an insect-like thorax with bone spikes protruding out of it, at the center of the thorax was a green tube, which connected to a large, bulbous sac on the creature's underbelly. The Grimm had a pair of arms on the thorax, whose forearms and hands were replaced with blades.
"Oh, yuck…" Peter muttered out in disgust. The Cenitaur dragged itself into view and screeched, with its body churning with a bright green substance. Battles were happening all over the estate. And ones were about to begin in the manor itself.
X
Back in the manor, Penny was struggled to maintain control as Klein watched from outside the storm of wind surrounding her. Jenny was within, watching cautiously as the Winter Maiden held her head. Whenever her eyes turned red, she robotically took a step toward her fellow robot girl.
"You're okay, Penny!" Jenny called out to her, "Please!" she pleaded desperately, starting to approach while bracing herself from the rushing wind. The Winter Maiden's eyes were chaotically alternating between red and green, and she herself seemed to be in great pain.
"I…!" she gasped out, struggling to maintain her composure, "I don't want to do it!" she exclaimed.
"Penny…!" Jenny cried out worriedly.
"Hey…" Nora's voice weakly chimed in, reaching her left hand out to grab hold of the Winter Maiden's. Taken by surprise, she let the flames around her eyes vanish as she looked to the injured huntress. The storm around them raged on. "No one's gonna make you do anything you don't wanna do…" the orange-haired girl assured.
"But… there is… a part of me…!" Penny noted, fighting back against whatever had infected her system, while her words were coming out haltingly, "It's making me…!"
"It's just a part of you…" Nora weakly pointed out as the storm around them started to quell, "Don't forget about the rest…" she insisted, echoing Blake's words as she gave a light squeeze to her friend's hand. She seemed to have taken control for the moment as the storm calmed. Her eyes flickered red before she knelt by the orange-haired huntress' beside, sharing a smile with her.
"Penny…!" Jenny gasped out, kneeling down and hugging her fellow robot girl warmly as she sobbed with relief.
"Jenny…" she uttered, realizing how worried she must've been. She held her close with her left arm around her back. In the meantime, Klein sighed with relief. Things seemed to have calmed down for the moment. Just then, he heard his Scroll ping, enticing him to answer it.
"Klein, it's coming inside," Weiss relayed to him, "Stay quiet," she advised, "I'm on my way," she assured.
"Do hurry," the doctor advised, "Whitley and Willow have yet to return…" he pointed out.
"What?!" the ex-heiress exclaimed in question, "Where'd Mom go?!" she inquired on. Back outside, the Teryxes continued to swipe at Danny, who weaved around their talons. His irises shined a bright blue before he swung his arms out, unleashing crescent-shaped blades of icy energy. They struck two of the Grimm, freezing them in ice as they plummeted towards the ground below. The other two screeched angrily, diving down at him.
He flew upward, enticing them to follow. However, he suddenly turned intangible, phasing down through both of them. Their bodies froze up in ice, crashing into each other as they shattered, with black smoke to follow. He looked back toward the manor and down at his colleagues, who were all still battling the Grimm. Neither the Hound nor Weiss were in sight. Forming his legs into a wispy ghost tail, Danny flew off to the building.
Meanwhile, Willow burst through the doors of her room, breathing heavily in panic. She ran over to a nearby table, trying to catch her breath as sweat trickled down her face. She looked over to see another bottle of vodka on the table, with a glass right next to it. Out of habit, she reached for them. But she then saw her Scroll right next to them. She seemed to harden her resolve for a moment.
A distant crash had her yelping in surprise. The Hound had entered the manor's entrance hall, having crashed through the windows and landing on the floor with its wings still spread. It retracted the wings as black goo dripped onto the floor from its body. It started to sniff around for its target, growling as it went on all fours. It sauntered about before stopping at a large puddle of her green coolant on the floor. Nora and Penny overheard its sniffing, widening their eyes in concern.
At that moment, Weiss finally burst through the front doors, entering the foyer. She stepped lightly in caution as she saw glass shards scattered about at her feet, looking around for the Grimm. All of a sudden, she heard her Scroll beep.
"Above you!" her mother screamed.
"Wha—?" She didn't even have time to say anything as the Hound dropped down in front of her. But at that moment, Danny flew in, reforming his legs and landing a fierce kick with his right foot, which glowed a bright green. The Grimm tumbled away into the shadows. Weiss quickly formed a pair of white glyphs, firing off icy projectiles from them towards her target. It leapt onto the second landing to evade them, sniffing all the while. It let out an indignant roar before it crawled up out of sight.
"You okay?" the half-ghost teen asked, landing down next to the ex-heiress.
"Yeah, thanks," she replied assuredly with a little smile. She then put her fingers up onto the communicator in her right ear. "Mom?" she said. In Willow's room, the bottle of vodka she could have drunk lied in pieces on the steps leading to her bed. She was bringing up several live camera feeds, showing the manor's surveillance on her Scroll.
"I… I can see it," she confirmed, noticing the Grimm wandering about the hallway as it sniffed, "It's outside Winter's old room…" she noted, "I- You can kill it? Can't you?" she inquired of her daughter.
"What is it doing?" she asked in response. Her mother looked at where the Hound was, still prowling the hallway.
"I'm… not sure. It's acting strange…!" she replied, "Why is it here?!" she questioned in a panic.
"It doesn't matter," Weiss said, trying to reassure her, "Just keep an eye on it so we can track it down," she advised while climbing the stairs alongside Danny, having her Myrtenaster at the ready.
"Right…" Willow responded, taking a breath to steady herself, "Right," she repeated, calming down, "Okay…" she uttered, "It's moving again," she confirmed, "Heading towards... Oh dear, no…" she whispered in realization, slightly widening her eyes. Meanwhile, Whitley was still working in his father's study on the holographic computer, his vest still stained with Penny's green coolant.
"I can do this…" he affirmed of himself, "I can—"
"Whitley…!" his mother's voice called out from his Scroll causing him to perk up in surprise. He groaned, quickly hitting the red icon to hang up on her.
"You are the last thing I need…" he muttered as he continued typing, "All that's left should be…" he started to say, only to hear the door creak open. He grunted in frustration. But when he turned to the door, his expression changed into one of horror.
The Hound made its way into the study, using its head to push open the door. Whitley had immediately taken cover behind the desk, hearing its sniffing as he shivered. The Grimm wandered around in search of its target, with its footsteps rattling the pieces of a nearby chess set on the coffee table. Glancing over, the SDC heir peeked over and risked a look at the creature, seeing it continue to sniff about.
"Credentials verified," the computer suddenly echoed, causing the Hound to snap its head toward it, while Whitley blinked in surprise, "Click to proceed," it said. The SDC went back behind the desk, cowering as he could hear the Grimm approaching.
"I know…" it suddenly growled out to his shock as his eyes widened, "you're here…" it said, sniffing around.
"Wow," a familiar voice suddenly chimed in, causing it to snap its head over to see Danny floating behind it, "Got quite the sniffer, huh?" he assumed. He then made his eyes glow an icy blue before firing off rays of light from his hands onto the Grimm, pinning it against the wall and entrapping it in ice. "Hurry, get outta here!" the half-ghost teen cried out to Whitley, who stood up. However, the Hound suddenly made another arm erupt out from its back, throwing it out.
Danny noticed too late as it struck him, sending him crashing into the wall above the doorframe before he fell onto the floor in a pained groan. The SDC heir widened his eyes, looking over to see the Grimm breaking free from the ice before turning its attention onto him. It was about to attack, when without warning, a Boarbatusk summon rammed into it from the side, pinning it to the wall.
"RUN!" Willow screamed, standing at the doorway. Danny got back onto his feet, while Whitley was ready to head for the door. However, he quickly turned back for one last keystroke on his father's computer, hurrying off. A window that read 'ORDERS RECEIVED' popped up on the screen, while the Hound was continuing to wrestle against the summon pinning it.
"Thank you," the computer said. Willow and Whitley scrambled into the hallway, while Danny flew after them. He glanced back to see the Boarbatusk summon getting flung out from the room in a squeal, bursting into white ashes upon hitting the floor. What followed was the Hound bursting out and pursuing its prey.
"Crap…!" Danny yelped, turning and firing off ghostly rays of green light from his hands onto the Grimm, but it easily evaded them. Those of the Schnee family went through a doorway at the end of the corridor, with the SDC heir slamming the door behind them. But it didn't even slow the Hound down as it bashed through the door, charging after its targets.
Whitley and Willow sprinted, but the Hound was gaining on them. Danny combined his legs into a ghostly tail, flying out and wrapping his arms around the two, turning them intangible along with himself just as the Grimm pounced. They phased through a wall of solid ice that suddenly erected. The half-ghost teen landed down, releasing the SDC heir and his mother as they were no longer intangible. They turned to Weiss standing there at the end of the corridor, with sweat trickling down her face.
"I didn't forget you…" she remarked, letting out a heavy breath. Her mother and brother both smiled gratefully at her. But then, they widened their eyes upon hearing the ice wall start to crack, turning to see the damage. On the other side, the Hound was slashing at the ice with its claws. "Go!" Weiss called out to her family members, enticing them to hurry past her. Willow laid a concerned hand onto her daughter's shoulder, but she nodded assuredly to her, enticing her to keep moving.
"Hey," Whitley said, getting Danny's attention, "Keep my sister safe," he requested firmly. The half-ghost teen blinked in surprise, but then nodded. As he and his fellow Omni Force member watched them go, they then turned to the cracking ice wall.
"So, how are we gonna do this?" he inquired of Weiss. She merely held her Myrtenaster up, moving her fingers down its blade before stabbing it into the floor. Another large white glyph appeared at her feet, about to bring forth another summon…
X
Ruby was bursting into a cluster of rose petals for what she felt like was every few seconds in order to dodge each of the winged Beringel's attacks. Trying to concentrate was next to impossible when there was so much going through her head. She wasn't even thinking to use her Crescent Rose to fight back.
Near the power shed, Blake used her blades to parry and block the slashes of the Cenitaur. Peter swung it and kicked its head, causing it to slide back a step. Meanwhile, he landed beside the cat Faunus, who looked relatively grossed out.
"Why did it get more disgusting?!" she asked. Before Peter could make a quip in response, he suddenly saw the thorax of the Grimm glow a bright green as something was trailing up to its mouth. It unleashed a spray of green acid towards its foes, enticing them to jump back and dodge.
"I think that's your answer…" the web-slinger remarked to his colleague, who groaned. The Cenitaur slithered forward, attempting to slash at her with both of its bladed, but she leaned back to dodge it. Peter then leapt onto its back, enticing it to start flailing around. He quickly shot a few globs of webbing over its eyes, blinding it.
Blake rushed in, ready to land a killing blow to the Grimm. But somehow, it sensed her incoming presence, swinging its bladed arms down at her. She quickly blocked with her Gambol Shroud's katana and sheath, grimacing as she could see the acid glowing in the Cenitaur's throat. It spat out more toward her, enticing her to quickly click her weapon's trigger to leave behind a clone of fire in her place as she leapt back, letting it explode to envelop her partner and the Grimm in smoke.
"Hey, don't you know it's rude to spit?!" Peter yelled, trying to web up the Cenitaur's mouth. However, it flung him off of it, using its bladed arms to rip away the webbing around its head. The cat Faunus charged in again, attempting to pierce through her target's stomach with her katana. But it caught the blade in its arms, using it to throw her down onto the ground.
It then attempted to stab her multiple times, but she rolled her head out of the way. Before it could pierce her with both of its bladed arms, she left behind a clone of solid ice to entrap it. Peter then leapt in. The Grimm tried to strike him with the ice clone, but he flipped over it, landing on its back before taking a great jump into the air.
The Cenitaur snarled as it turned to him, but then felt a few shots strike its back. It turned to see Blake there with a determined glare on her face. Shifting her Gambol Shroud's katana back into its blade form in her left hand, while rearing her right one back as it held the sheath.
"Peter!" she called out, throwing the sheath up into the air. A web line snatched it, allowing it to be pulled over to the descending web-slinger. He raised the blade over his head as he came down, while the Grimm was slithering toward the cat Faunus, who took a ready stance. She left a shadow clone in her place to take a slash from its bladed arms, moving off to the side. That distracted it long enough for Peter to slash right through its back with the sheath. It dissipated into ashes soon after.
"Huh…" the superhero exhaled, tossing Blake the sheath for her to catch, "You know, I'm probably never gonna do that again…" he admitted, "but that was awesome," he said. The cat Faunus chuckled, glad that he enjoyed himself. In the meantime, one of the winged Beringels was thrown down to the ground by Tifa, who stomped on its right wing to keep it pinned. It tried to punch her, but she blocked it with her arms, giving off a glare.
She then swung her arms up to move its right fist away, followed by landing several quick and powerful jabs to its face, knocking it down. She finished it off by stomping her right foot onto its head to crush it, reducing it down to ashes that faded into the wind. With a quick breath of relief, she looked over to see Ruby still struggling to battle against her winged Beringel.
She was breathing in panic, slashing aimlessly at the Grimm, while it was easily predicting her moves. It attempted to slam its arms down onto her, forcing her to fly back in a burst of rose petals. However, she lost her balance and fell to the ground on her stomach in a grunt, quickly pushing herself back up. The Beringel took off into the air with its wings, about to come down onto her and smash her against the earth. The silver-eyed girl took notice and gasped in fright. But suddenly, Tifa leapt in and clocked it in the head with her right fist, sending it flying back before it hit the ground.
As it tried to get back up, she went over and grabbed its wings from behind. With her right foot planted upon the ground and her left on its back, she pulled hard, ripping its wings off as it roared in pain. Ruby watched in amazement. The Grimm stumbled forward, breathing rapidly as its wings faded away in its foe's hands. It turned and roared at her, only to end up taking a right hook to its head that sent it crashing through the fence before slamming against the power shed, fading into ashes. Peter and Blake had witnessed the ordeal, glancing at each other with widened eyes.
"Okay… don't get on her bad side…" the former advised quietly.
"Huh…" Ruby sighed with relief, hearing the approaching footsteps of the bar hostess, "I-I'm sorry…" she stuttered in apology, "I was just… I…" she tried to say, only to sigh sadly again. But then she felt Tifa's gloved hand come onto her head, causing her to look up. She was surprised to see her smile.
"You remember what the butler said, right?" she inquired of her, "Focus on what you can do right now instead of trying to worry about everything," she advised, "One step at a time," she remarked with a wink, "Trust me, I know a guy who could use that same advice…" she mentioned on, putting her hands onto her hips. The silver-eyed huntress chuckled a little.
"Thanks," she said in gratitude. Peter and Blake made their way over to meet up with them.
"Weiss, Danny," the former communicated through the earpiece in his right ear as he put his fingers up to it, "you take care of the beast yet?" he inquired over the line.
"Working on it," the half-ghost teen's voice replied as he and the ex-heiress were still in the corridor inside the manor, as the latter had brought forth her Arma Gigas summon, "We got it trapped on the west side of the house if you wanna come and help," he told his colleagues.
"What about Penny?" Ruby asked out of concern. As if on cue, Penny's distant scream had everyone around the estate perk up in surprise. Weiss let out a gasp, while the Hound itself also heard the scream as it was poking its head through a hole it made in the ice wall. It then turned and took off in the opposite direction.
"Shit!" Danny cursed, flying after it. Meanwhile, the ex-heiress put her fingers up to the communicator in her right ear.
"It's coming!" she warned as her summon faded away behind her. Back in her bedroom, Penny was struggling more than ever to maintain control, with her eyes flashing between red and green.
"Just hang in there, Penny!" Jenny cried out as she grabbed onto her shoulders. The Winter Maiden was holding onto her head in her heads, trying to fight off the hack that was plaguing her. But it was no use.
"I'm sorry!" she apologized. With one last pained grunt, she suddenly went limp. Jenny blinked twice.
"Penny…?" she uttered worriedly. She watched in horror as the Winter Maiden opened her eyes, which were staying red. She stood up robotically and shoved her fellow robot girl away, slamming her into the wall beside the bed as Nora watched on in shock.
Penny then walked off robotically. Klein tried to stop her, but found himself simply pushed onto the floor by the hacked Winter Maiden, who left the bedroom. Quickly, Jenny got to her feet and rushed after her.
Meanwhile, Willow and Whitley finally reached the entrance hall, breathing heavily as they grabbed onto the bannister of the staircase. Things seemed to have calmed down, at least for the moment. But as the SDC heir turned and sat on the bannister, he widened his eyes to find Penny walking him and his mother.
"What are you doing?!" he called out in question.
"I must open the Vault," she responded robotically in a monotonous voice, "and then self-terminate," she added.
"NO!" Jenny's voice screamed as she rocketed in thanks to the boosters at her feet. She tackled the hacked Winter Maiden onto the steps of the other side of the staircase. "Penny, you've gotta fight back!" she pleaded, "I don't know what's happening, but I know you can take control!" she affirmed, "Please!" she begged. All of a sudden, she was yanked off of her by the Hound's left arm, getting flung away into a nearby statue before she fell onto the floor.
"J…Jenny…!" Penny managed to gasp out before the hack took control again. She stood up as the Grimm turned to lunge at her. They locked hands with each other at the landing, forcing them both into a standstill. Then a third arm emerged from the Hound's back in a spray of black liquid that splattered onto the carpet. It grasped Penny's head as her eyes flickered again.
"Take… the… girl…!" it growled out, slamming her against the floor with each word, rendering her unconscious. It lifted her up as it retracted its third arm.
"Penny!" Ruby called out, joined by Weiss, Blake, Peter, Danny, and Tifa as they ran back into the manor to confront the Grimm. It raised a claw from its right hand to the Winter Maiden's throat, causing everyone to stop in their tracks as they grimaced. Jenny pushed herself up, watching in horror. Willow and Whitley were just as terrified as they were still near the bannister.
At that point, Ruby was fed up. She had dealt with a lot in the past few days. And like Tifa and Klein had said, she needed to focus on what could do right now. She needed to protect her friends.
"That's… enough…" she growled out in an uncharacteristically low voice. Everyone nearby turned to look at her. Her eyes shimmered before she closed them, followed by opening them to unleash a bright flash of light. Harmed by the sudden luminosity, the Grimm dropped Penny and stumbled back, falling through the window behind it as the glass shattered. Meanwhile, the unconscious Winter Maiden tumbled down the stairs.
"Penny!" Jenny cried out, quickly lunging over to catch her before she could hit the floor. The others quickly rushed over to check on her.
"Woo!" Peter exclaimed with a pump of his fists, "Silver Eyes for the win!" he remarked, snapping his fingers.
"Uh, can we not celebrate early?" Danny requested in response, "Didn't see the thing turn to stone…" he pointed out.
"And aren't you the one always telling us not to jinx everything?" Weiss inquired back. Peter awkwardly coughed into his right hand.
"Point taken…" he mumbled out. Jenny stood up, holding Penny in her arms. She looked at her sadly.
"I'm so sorry…" she apologized, "If I had just thought for a second, maybe—" A crash interrupted her as she and the others turned to the shattered window at the landing of the staircase. The Hound was slowly crawling back inside.
"Uh oh…" Tifa uttered with a grimace.
"Take…" the Grimm uttered, coming back into view. Only this time, there was a more shocking sight to it. Inside of its head was revealed to have once been a pale, silver-eyed Faunus with canine ears as his trait. He was horribly scarred, his face warped and contorted, resembling a severe burn. His right eye was covered by a vein-like mass of white flesh, which faded and extended beyond his eye. White boils bubbled in patches of his skin, and he appeared to have been rotting, as pieces of torn skin exposed his muscle. Black liquids leaked from his remaining eye and ears. "…the girl…" he growled out.
"Holy shit…" Peter cursed out, completely horrified, as was everyone else.
"Take the girl…" the Hound growled again. As it lumbered down the stairs, its joints were cracking back into place. "Take… the… girl…!" it repeated in a raspy voice.
"Move! MOVE!" Danny insisted of his colleagues enticing them to all hurry away from the Grimm as it approached.
"Take the girl!" it roared, stumbling after them as its canine-like head started to reform. Jenny carried Penny into an alcove in the wall, while Weiss and Blake turned to raise their weapons to the incoming Hound, as did Ruby. Meanwhile, Whitley studied the armored statue next to him before putting his hand onto his mother's shoulder to get her attention. He gestured toward the statue with a tilt of his head. Down below, Tifa took notice of them getting into position. She blinked in realization.
"Parker, on my mark!" she called out to Peter before leaping up to the bannister.
"On your what?" the web-slinger responded in confusion, wondering what she was up to.
"Take the girl!" the Hound roared again, starting to completely reform as the head that lurked within it was no longer visible. Whitley and Willow pushed as hard as they could against the armored statue, but it wasn't budging. Tifa hurried over to help push with them. Peter heard the creaking nearby, seeing the trio trying to push the statue over. He quickly fired off a pair of web lines that attached to it.
"Stand back!" he yelled in warning as the Hound closed in on them.
"TAKE!" it roared out, taking on its deeper voice from before, "THE!" it continued, "GIRRRRLLLLL!" it bellowed, about to make a final lunge at the group. The web-slinger pulled on the web lines attached to the statue hard, while those above pushed. It toppled over, crashing onto the Grimm in a cloud of rubble. Up on the stairs, Willow exhaled a breath of relief, while Tifa hurried back down to the ground floor.
"Everyone okay?!" she asked.
"Somehow…" Peter responded as the dust finally settled, revealing that the Hound had stopped beneath the armor that collapsed onto it. The lone arm that stuck out started to disintegrate. Ruby fell onto her knees, staring in shock.
"What was that?" Weiss asked, looking to her team leader.
"It was… a person…" the silver-eyed huntress realized after a moment, giving off a solemn expression.
"Not just any person…" Peter chimed in to her surprise, "Did you notice?" he asked of her. As the group contemplated over their current situation, the Grimm flesh of the creature they fought faded, revealing the skeletal arm of its host that was left behind. The danger was over for now. But there was still more to come…
X
Fire and smoke billowed about in the Atlas holding cells. There was a large hole in the wall as Cinder was tearing away chunks of rubble from the floor. Thanks to Salem granting her the opportunity to track down the Winter Maiden, she now had a chance to gain the power she wanted. And to do that, she would have to rely on an old acquaintance. She tore another piece of rubble away with her Grimm hand before smirking down at Arthur.
"You know, this may be the first time I've ever been happy to see you," she admitted, putting her right hand onto her chin as her Grimm arm held onto her elbow. The former Atlesian scientist coughed.
"Cinder…" he gasped out. The Fall Maiden grabbed his left hand and helped him up onto his feet, letting him lean on her as he placed his left arm around her shoulders, "W-What are you—?" Cinder covered his mouth with her Shadow Hand before he could finish his question.
"It's my turn to ask for something…" she said with another smirk. She raised Arthur onto her shoulders in a fireman's lift, followed by heading for the hole in the wall that she blasted. However, a trio of Atlesian soldiers burst into the room, two with rifles and the third with a rocket launcher.
"It's her!" one of them exclaimed. Cinder scoffed as the soldiers aimed their weapons at her. Flames burst into existence at her feet, and she propelled herself past them just as they fired. An explosion erupted from inside the room as she zoomed out into the Atlesian sky, giving one last smug look back as energy flames trailed out from her lone eye.
"Damn it!" one of the other soldiers cursed, "We need to find out where they're going, stat!" he called out to his colleagues, who nodded in agreement. They didn't realize that Qrow and Robyn had witnessed the whole ordeal from the doorway.
"We're too late…" the latter of the two realized, while the former growled with frustration.
Whereas one battle on Atlas has ended with our heroes' victory, another has started. With Penny infected by Arthur's hack and Cinder having escaped with the good doctor himself, things aren't as bright as they may seem. Of course, there may be some good news in light of this.
The Hound has been dealt with. But with its demise comes one startling revelation, especially for Ruby. And this is only the beginning…
END
Phew! I got this chapter's draft done pretty quick, but it was still quite the episode to work with, especially with the original, added content. Adapting the second half of Volume 8 is a bit tricky compared to the first, especially since there's a couple of things I really don't like about this chapter in particular.
First off, the fact that Ruby gets herself knocked out by falling out of the sky. That seemed really dumb when she could easily use her Semblance to save herself. Then there's how Blake was struggling against the Cenitaur, when I've seen her deal with Grimm that seem even more dangerous easily. I wanted to make adjustments that fit in with those two, so I hope I delivered on that front.
But that's about it! I did enjoy the episode all the same, but those elements just stuck out as bad to me. Anyways, thanks for reading! I'll be back to "The Challenge of a Lifetime" for next week!