And we're back with another chapter of "Reality"! This continues the Volume 8 adaptation with some new additions and necessary subtractions, at least from my perspective. I'll explain more at the end, but do note that one of these key plot points in particular isn't happening due to what happened in the last chapter.
Also, this is likely going to be a pretty drama-heavy chapter. Fair warning for those reading, it's going to get intense from here on out. So without further delay, let's get into this!
REALITY
Hello again. The problems our heroes are facing have decreased, if only a little. Thanks to Ben, Penny's virus has been done away with for good. Now all the group needs to concern themselves with the threat of James' ultimatum.
It's time for them to take a risk. And I'm certain they'll create a plan fit to stop him. Let's hope it will…
"That's actually a risk… we haven't considered…" Ruby realized, still seated on the ground with the rest of the group in front of the Schnee Manor. Everyone looked over to her in surprise.
"…I'm sorry, what?" Peter uttered with a shake of his head, "You want to give Penny to Jimmy?" he assumed, quite shocked by the proposal.
"Not exactly," the silver-eyed huntress responded, "More like making him think we're handing her over," she corrected.
"Good call, sis…" Yang said with a grin.
"Maybe with that, Ironwood will at least not send the bomb down to Mantle," Ren inferred.
"No, he still will," Enji chimed in, getting their attentions as he approached the group, "He's going to need leverage just in case he perceives something is off," he pointed out, "What's your plan, Rose?" he inquired of Ruby.
"Well… we have to think about the bigger picture first and foremost," she answered, "Ironwood's only one problem right now," she noted, "There's still the Grimm and Salem coming back," she told her colleagues.
"And the people still trapped in both Mantle and Atlas," Blake mentioned.
"Well, without those cargo ships we sent earlier, we'd need a miracle to help them…" Danny chimed in.
"Or something else…" Oscar said, getting everyone's attention as they turned to look over at him, "I think there's another risk we haven't considered," he inferred, "The Staff of Creation," he noted to the group's surprise, "There might be a way we can use it to save everyone," he pointed out.
"And we've been so worried about keeping the Vault secured, we never actually considered using what was inside…" Jaune added.
Uh… wasn't that for a good reason?" Kevin inquired, arching an eyebrow.
"Either way, I think it's a good idea," Gaara affirmed, "But we shouldn't rush into things without a strong plan," he advised seriously. At that moment, everyone heard a ringtone go off from where Weiss was sitting. She pulled out her Scroll, opening it to see the notification she just received upon her screen. A small smile came across her face.
"Well…" she huffed out, "you'll never guess who I just heard from," she noted. Back in the Atlas military compound, Winter roughly shoved Marrow into an elevator as he had been unbound. He rubbed her wrists tenderly, seeing the special operative grimly cross her arms over her chest.
"So… you're not arresting me?" he assumed unsurely, evidently perplexed.
"No," Winter answered, "Ironwood's got to be stopped," she confirmed. Hearing that, the canine Faunus was even more confused, and now irritated.
"Then why did you hit me?!" he questioned angrily, rounding upon her.
"Because you were about to get killed if I didn't do something," she immediately responded, pushing him back as she jabbed her right pointer finger into his chest. Marrow grunted, turning away crossly with his arms folded. In the meantime, the special operative took out her Scroll and looked up her little sister's contact information, typing out a message to her. The canine Faunus snuck a glance at her curiously.
"What are you doing?" he asked.
"Huh…" Winter sighed out, "What I should've done ages ago…" she admitted ashamedly, "getting in touch with my sister," she said, "We're going to need help," she confirmed as the elevator slowed down, coming to a stop with a beep. The door opened, and the occupants inside blinked in surprise to find Qrow and Robyn on the other side with their weapons raised. They were just as stunned to see the Atlesian operatives. "Speaking of help…" Winter remarked with a grin.
Meanwhile, the group at the manor had reconvened in the dining room. Jenny and Penny held hands, smiling at each other warmly. With the issue of the latter's virus resolved, now they could focus on the tasks at hand.
"So we've got people trapped in Atlas and Mantle that we can't evacuate unless we use the Staff…" Weiss noted, standing at the head of the table, "which is located inside the Vault," she mentioned, "If Ironwood gets wind of any of this, he blows up Mantle," she pointed out.
"We also have Salem coming back to worry about," Raven chimed in, "Without the Reality Stone, she might not be as powerful, but she'll have control over the Grimm," she told the group.
"Which means that they'll mobilize upon her return and likely attack the citizens," Enji inferred.
"There's something else to consider," Oscar added, getting the group's attention, "Once the Staff creates anything else, the city drops," he said, "Atlas has enough natural Gravity Dust to keep it from plummeting immediately, but…" he continued explaining, "well, nobody's going to want to be around when it touches down…" he grimly noted. There was a brief silence amongst the group as an uncertainty spread. Doing this would likely destroy both Atlas and Mantle. And if things didn't work out, innocent people would be caught up in the destruction…
"The crater's where Atlas started, right?" Ben inquired, chiming into the conversation, "Maybe there's a way we can have it touch down safely, at least to salvage both cities," he suggested.
"Wait, we can do that?" Peter questioned, tilting his head to the side.
"I know I could," the Omni Force leader replied, "Though I wouldn't mind a bit of help from you, Gaara," he mentioned over to the Kazekage, who grinned.
"There's still the matter of making sure everyone's out of the crossfire," he pointed out.
"Okay…" Jaune uttered, "then let's use the Staff to teleport everyone to safety," he advised, "Maybe even to another Kingdom," he suggested on.
"We can't just wave it like a magic wand and make our problems go away…" Oscar responded disdainfully, "And we haven't even told you about… him…" he mentioned.
"Who?" Yang asked. As if on cue, the former farmhand let his eyes glow gold as control of his body was switched over to Ozpin.
"The spirit in the Staff," he answered, "Like Jinn… but…" he continued, "well, he's a character…" he pointed out, "He can build you anything, but… only if you can explain to him how," he told the group as everyone listened on intently, "Like any craftsman, he'll need blueprints," he mentioned, "Some sort of reference," he added, "It'll help if we have real world examples to show him," he finished.
"I've already gone through the city layouts for the SDC evacuation," Whitley noted, chiming into the conversation, "Maybe I can help?" he suggested. Ozpin, Weiss, Ruby and Danny all smiled at him. However, the former dropped his gaze and frowned.
"There's still James and his bomb to consider…" he pointed out.
"Oh, I've got a plan for that…" Weiss affirmed as she put a hand onto her hip, catching Emerald's eye as she perked up in surprise.
"Add me to it," Ben requested, standing up from his seat.
"Ben, you're already doing enough by trying to save both cities," Nora noted out of concern, "You don't need to—!"
"I'm not doing this alone," the Omni Force leader affirmed with a shake of his head, interjecting her, "Oz," he said, turning his gaze onto the former headmaster, "I think it's time you and James got to talk," he insisted to his surprise, as well as those of the others in the room, "And I know a lot of you are probably thinking I'm crazy for wanting to try and talk the guy down," he added to his colleagues, "Believe me, I'd feel the same way," he admitted, letting out a sigh, "But this whole time, we've just been fighting and fighting without really understanding each other and trying to work together…" he pointed out, "So that's my goal," he affirmed.
"And… what if it doesn't work out?" Kevin asked in concern. His best friend balled his hands into fists.
"Then I'll do what I have to…" he answered grimly. Silence filled the room for a moment. Blake looked at Ben worriedly.
"Changing the subject…" Raven began as she walked over, "Are we sure she's not gonna go berserk on us again?" she inquired as she pointed toward Penny, who sadly lowered her head.
"Hey, that's not—!"
"Yeah, that is a good point…" Ruby chimed in, interrupting her sister, "I mean, Ben did remove the virus," she pointed out, "but there's no telling if it could come back," she mentioned.
"How'd it even happen in the first place?" the Spring Maiden asked, raising an eyebrow.
"One of her swords got taken by the Ace-Ops," Peter answered, "Ironwood must've had someone in IT reconfigure it to not only connect to Penny, but implant that virus, too," he noted to the group.
"I doubt it'd be that easy, especially since Penny was made by Doctor Polendina," Ren chimed in, "So… how?" he inquired.
"Huh…" Danny sighed out, "Unfortunately, all evidence points to that Watts guy…" he noted with narrowed eyes, "James must've used him to hack into Penny to get her to do what he wants," he assumed.
"And Watts must've made it so that if Penny opened the Vault, she wouldn't be able to do anything else if she self-terminated…" Weiss added. The Winter Maiden lowered her gaze with shame. However, Jenny gripped her hand tightly, giving her a reassuring smile.
"You need to get that sword back," Enji insisted, getting their attentions, "If there's even the slightest chance Watts could implant another virus in you, then we can't let him get a hold on even a single piece of you," he explained thoroughly.
"I agree," Penny responded, "So Jenny and I will go into the compound in search of my blade," she decided to everyone's surprise, "Does that sound alright?" she inquired of her colleagues.
"Uh, yeah, totally," Yang replied with a nod.
"Then there's the bomb…" Tifa chimed in, "For all we know, it's still on Atlas," she said.
"We need to make sure it doesn't get to Mantle," Sabo stated firmly.
"Then we'll meet up with Qrow and the others," Raven decided, "Your sister said they were there, right?" she inquired of Weiss.
"Yeah," she replied with a nod. A few moments later, the Spring Maiden used her Omen to tear open a red portal. Enji was the first to enter it, with Kevin and Sabo ready to follow. The hybrid Osmosian stopped for a moment, looking over at Ben.
"Don't do anything stupid," he advised. The Omni Force leader let off a silent chuckle.
"How can I?" he inquired back, "You're taking all the stupid with you…" he remarked. Kevin laughed a little, giving his best friend a wave before exiting into the portal. The Flame-Flame user took a deep breath before entering the rift himself. Wendy was next to follow them, but before she could depart...
"Wendy," Oscar said, getting her attention as he had gotten control of his body back from Ozpin. She turned to see him walk up to her. "Are you going to be okay?" he asked out of concern, looking down at her stomach where he knew her recent injury was. She looked at it herself, taking a deep breath.
"I'll be fine," she promised, giving off a small smile. The former farmhand still seemed worried, but nodded to her regardless. With that, she departed into the portal. That left Raven to be the last one to go in. She stopped for a moment, looking over her shoulder at her biological daughter.
"Yang," she called out, getting her attention. She almost didn't react in time as her mother tossed her the container for the Reality Stone, catching it in her left hand. "Have whoever's in the staff look at that," she requested, "Maybe he can figure out how to use it and get your other friends here," she suggested, about to head into the portal. The blonde-haired huntress blinked in surprise, glancing off to the side for a moment.
"Hey, Mom?" she said, causing Raven to stop in shock as she was turned away, "Thanks," she remarked gratefully. The Spring Maiden kept her head down, going into her portal before it disappeared a moment later.
"Okay, we got our teams and missions," Peter noted.
"And Obi-Wan and the others and Mantle know the plan," Tifa added.
"Then let's do it," Ruby said with a determined look on her face. She and the others headed off, leaving the dining room. However, Hazel stayed behind for a moment. Ben noticed, coming to a stop.
"What's up?" he asked.
"…I didn't know that White Chase died," the scarred man answered, "Was it Salem?" he guessed. The Omni Force leader merely nodded. "I never expected you to come and save my life, much less give me a chance to fight with you…" Hazel admitted.
"You don't have to fight," the Omni Force leader assured, "You helped us take care of Salem for the time being," he pointed out, "I think that's more than enough for now…" he proclaimed.
"Not for me," the scarred man disagreed, shaking his head, "Not when there's more lives on the line," he stated as he walked over to the Biomnitrix bearer, "If you're still willing to try and talk Ironwood down, then fine," he told him, "Just know that if things go wrong," he continued, "I'm going to help you," he declared.
"…Thanks," Ben replied gratefully, letting out a sigh, "I have to show him the kind of leader that he's become and why it's not going to get us anywhere," he stated firmly, balling his fists tightly, "Otherwise, I'm no leader myself," he finished. Meanwhile, Raven had just stepped out from the portal, standing alongside Wendy, Sabo, Kevin, and Enji in the hallway of the military compound, with the group of Qrow, Robyn, Winter and Marrow standing before them. The latter of the quartet let his eyes shimmer with shock.
"You…You're alive!" he exclaimed, running out and suddenly embracing the hybrid Osmosian, who let out a grunt in surprise. However, he chuckled.
"Yeah… we made it out, Fido…" he noted, patting him on the back, "There, there…" he repeated, seeing the canine Faunus' tail wag back and forth.
"I see that you actually stayed alive," Raven remarked over to her brother, who scoffed with a grin.
"We both have a habit of doing that…" he noted in response, folding his arms over his chest.
"Are we all in agreement on the plan?" Enji inquired, changing the subject.
"Yeah," Robyn replied, "We stop the bomb from going down to Mantle, disable it, and let the kids get all the people to safety," she listed off thoroughly.
"Right now, only drones are stationed at the hangar where the bomb's to be loaded on an airship," Winter mentioned, "Ironwood will likely be alerted the moment something happens, so you may have to deal with the Ace-Ops," she added, making Wendy perk up slightly.
"Otherwise, it's pretty much a cinch," the Happy Huntresses' leader confirmed.
"Then let's get moving," Enji insisted of the group. However, he noticed the Sky Dragon Slayer walking off, turning a corner into another hallway. "Marvell?" he called out in confusion.
"Where you going, ponytail?" Robyn asked, arching an eyebrow.
"To keep a promise," she responded simply as her fists were clenched, not bothering to turn and face her colleagues. They blinked in surprise. Kevin then let out a sigh.
"I think we oughta' make sure the Ace-Ops don't catch you guys by surprise," he advised, walking off, "Come on, Sabo," he beckoned, waving for the Flame-Flame user to follow him as he went after Wendy.
"Uh…" he uttered, seeing that everyone else was still ready to go in their own directions… except for Winter.
"You kept your promise," she noted with a small smile. He gave a grin back, turning to face her.
"Can't let a lady like yourself down," he remarked with a tip of his hat. The special operative silently chuckled. But then she gave off a saddened, guilty expression.
"Sabo… I'm sorry that I kept following Ironwood…" she apologized to his surprise, "I felt that if I could… persuade him to think differently, then maybe…" she started to suggest, only to stop as the Revolutionary Army chief put a hand onto her shoulder.
"You did what you thought you could only do, and there's no shame in that," he affirmed to her, "Besides, you're the one who gave us the chance to save Oscar," he mentioned, "And inadvertently, Ben," he added with a chuckle. Winter smiled at him warmly. He smiled back… and then promptly took a right hook from her gloved fist to his face. "AH!" he yelped in pain, stumbling back, "What the…?! Ow!" he exclaimed.
"That was for punching me," she noted coldly, making him perk up as he gingerly rubbing his hurting cheek.
"O-Okay, I see why I had that coming…" he stammered out, standing up straight. However, he was caught by surprise as the special operative walked up to him, cupping his left cheek and leaning her head in to kiss him on the lips. Needless to say, the Flame-Flame user didn't know what to think in that moment, feeling Winter's lips roughly press against his. It lasted for a few more moments before she pulled herself back, looking at the astonished expression on Sabo's face.
"And that was for staying alive," she remarked sweetly. A soft chuckle left the Revolutionary Army chief's lips.
"Guess I have even more of a reason to help end this now," he realized. They shared another smile before heading off in different directions to take care of their respective tasks. For the sakes of their futures, this plan had to work.
X
Mantas were being attacked by Teryxes in the Atlesian sky as one ship in particular flew past them. Inside, Jaune, Nora and Ren looked visibly uneasy. Even with the plan laid out, the hurdle to overcome was large. Sitting on a bench nearby were both Jenny and Penny. They held hands, looking to each other and smiling reassuringly.
Just outside of the academy, James was readying a large handheld cannon, in which both of his revolvers had been installed. Watching on from afar were Vine, Harriet, and Elm. Elsewhere in the academy, Atlesian Knights were carrying the bomb through the hangar to a dropship, as the doors outside opened. Back in Mantle, citizens in the crater were murmuring with unease as Fiona and Joanna looked on from the stairwell. Kim, Genji and Obi-Wan were wandering about the area, looking at the dozens of drones keeping watch.
The Jedi narrowed his eyes, stroking his beard. He and the others had been informed of the plan, but were only told that they had to wait. For what exactly, he didn't know. Maybe it was to make sure that word didn't get out about what would unfold. Either way, time was still running short.
Back at the military compound's hangar, the Atlesian Knights had just finished loading the bomb securely aboard the dropship. Another was guiding them out before it suddenly heard a gunshot. It turned around was and promptly hit to the floor by a bullet.
"Be ready for anything," James advised of the Ace-Ops standing behind him, "We don't know what state Penny is in," he pointed out, having narrowed eyes.
"If any of those brats have the nerve to come with her, we put them down immediately," Harriet instructed of her colleagues, who looked to see her tightly balling her fists, "The general gave his terms," she noted, "No more games," she added firmly.
"Huh…" Vine sighed.
"Is there a problem?" the mohawk-haired Ace Operative inquired, looking over at him with a bit of a glare.
"Just… retracing the steps that led us here…" he responded, opening his eyes. Elm glanced away, looking rather uneasy about everything. At that moment, they heard their superior's Scroll beep. He pulled it out to see the 'SECURITY ALERT' notification upon it, along with mugshots of both Qrow and Robyn.
"What is it, sir?" Harriet asked.
"Qrow and Robyn," James responded as he turned around to face the Ace Operatives, "They're in the academy hangar," he told them.
"Trying to stop the payload?" Vine assumed.
"Or just looking for a way out," the general suggested.
"Not going to happen," Harriet remarked in response, "I've been waiting to take my shot at those two…" she noted as she spread her arms, activating her Fast Knuckles over them, "Let's go, Ace-Ops," she advised.
"But… someone needs to stay here with the general," Elm insisted, chiming into the conversation.
"I'll stay," Winter's voice decided, getting their attentions as they saw her walk over, coming to a stop beside James, "We lose the payload, we lose our leverage," she pointed out to the group.
"She's right," the general agreed, "Contain it," he instructed of the Ace-Ops, "Now," he added firmly. Just as they were about to leave though, they heard a whoosh in the wind. They looked out into the distance to see Penny approaching, soaring through the partly cloudy sky. Seeing her coming, Winter's expression softened.
"Sir…" she uttered, getting James' attention, "this… course of action—"
"I hope you're not going to try to talk me out of it," he interjected as he turned to her. She turned to face him, looking him in the eye as her demeanor shifted back to a resolute one.
"No, sir," she responded with a shake of her head, "I don't think that's possible…" she admitted. They watched the Winter Maiden touch down in front of them, raising her hands. The general immediately leveled his cannon at her. Its barrel glowed a pale green as he charged it.
"I didn't think you'd actually come alone," he confessed rather robotically, "I expected at least some resistance from your friends…" he added, ready to reach behind himself for a Gravity Bolas.
"Wait, what's that?" Elm questioned, getting their attentions. Another figure was approaching the academy entrance, soaring through the sky before coming down to land beside Penny. It was seemingly a man in a black jumpsuit with a green stripe running the center, a green collar, and green soles. The Biomnitrix symbol rested upon the center of his chest. He had slicked black hair and well-defined muscles. Seeing him, James widened his eyes in realization.
"Tennyson…" he uttered out. Harriet growled upon spotting the Kryptonian as well. "I should've known you were waiting in the wings in case Penny's friends were backed into a corner," the general noted, now aiming his cannon toward the new arrival, "You're always the one to take on everything for them," he pointed out. Hearing that, Kryptoknight lowered his gaze for a moment. He sighed, tapping the Biomnitrix symbol at his chest with his right hand. In a green flash of light, he transformed back into Ben.
"James…" he uttered out, "I was just in Salem's clutches for the past few days," he noted to his surprise, "You were right, even I couldn't stop her," he confessed, shaking his head again, "But with her dead right now, I think the best course of action we could still take is helping evacuate people, both from Atlas and Mantle," he explained to him, "What's making Atlas float higher gonna do when Salem's already on the damn rock?" he inquired on as the general gnashed his teeth together.
"Ben…" Penny uttered out softly.
"Huh…" the Omni Force leader sighed, "I know as a leader, you've had to make hard choices…" he pointed out to James, "Hell, I can see that from how you gave up your own arm to stop Watts," he noted upon seeing the prosthetic in place of the general's left arm, "But then you used him to try and take control of Penny…" he recalled, "And now you're wagering lives of innocent people…" he mentioned in a growl, "Abandoning Mantle was bad enough, but trying to destroy it?" he inquired, "James, ever since Salem got in your head, you've done nothing but worry about saving this damn floating rock, not its people!" he shouted angrily, "Who's helping those people still stuck in the subways while Grimm swarm about?!" he inquired, gesturing toward the city, "Who's actually trying to take care of all the other Grimm to at least ease everyone's minds?!" he questioned on, "Admit it, you're making things worse without thinking of the consequences!" he demanded, breathing heavily afterwards. The general seemed admittedly surprised at how the Biomnitrix bearer was standing up to him, even after he issued his ultimatum. But he steeled himself all the same.
"You told me that I was becoming a man you could've become," he noted in remembrance, "What did you have that I didn't?" he inquired, keeping his cannon leveled as it hummed with the charged green energy.
"Friends to talk me down and not just blindly follow my every order," Ben answered, making Harriet gnash her teeth together as she was ready to just charge at him, "I tried to take all the burdens on myself, even though I had so much other shit to worry about, especially not being able to go home," he explained, "The least I could do was make sure I'm helping leave this world in better shape than it was before," he told the general, who narrowed his eyes, "James… please," he pleaded, holding his left hand out in an offering manner, "I know you're set on getting Atlas as far away from this as possible, but you've got no options now with the state of things," he pointed out seriously, "Help save everyone before trying to focus on just this floating rock," he advised, "Then we can worry about fighting off Salem," he assured. The general seemed hesitant. He heard the words echoing in his head again. But he shook them off.
"I'm going to give to the count of three to step away from Penny," he said, causing the Omni Force leader to blink in surprise, "One…" he started counting.
"James, come on!" Ben yelled, "This isn't the way!" he noted emphatically.
"Two…" the general continued, tightening his trigger fingers.
"Command code ten!" the Biomnitrix bearer suddenly exclaimed, causing everyone to blink in surprise, "Decouple Omnitrices, command code zero-zero-zero-release coupling-zero," he said.
"Command accepted," the pair of devices at his arms responded, "Omnitrices decoupling," it stated. Green lines of light surrounded the pair of Biomnitrix gauntlets before they came apart from Ben's arms, dropping onto the ground. Everyone was shocked, especially Winter. They watched as the Omni Force leader held his hands up.
"Like I said, I don't wanna fight," he confessed, "All that's done is just make us go around in circles and tear us apart as a team," he pointed out, "If we don't come together, we're never going to be able to stop Salem," he affirmed seriously. With all that, James lowered his cannon ever so slightly. He appeared… conflicted. Even though he gave his terms, Ben's words were getting to him. The Ace-Ops noticed, too. But Harriet wasn't remotely convinced.
"Nice try…" she muttered, making her eyes flash gold. She sped out at him as electricity crackled off of her body.
"Harriet!" Vine exclaimed. The mohawk-haired Ace Operative reared her left fist back as she closed in on the unarmed Omni Force leader. He was barely able to notice her coming. One clean hit, and he'd be dead.
That is, if Wendy hadn't suddenly dashed in and slammed her right fist into Harriet's face, sending her flying before she could react. Everyone gasped as they saw her tumble across the courtyard, clawing at the ground to bring herself to a stop. Unfortunately, the second she looked up, she was met with a powerful roundhouse kick from the Sky Dragon Slayer, making her crash into the academy walls as her pink Aura shimmered a little. She breathed heavily, pushing herself up onto her hands and knees. She looked up and widened her eyes to see her foe walking up to her, pumping her fists like a boxer as she was in a ready stance.
"Hare, no!" Elm cried out, readying her Timber, while Vine had golden, Aura-formed arms appear over his own. They hurried out to assist their comrade, only for a column of flames to suddenly come down in front of them, forcing them to come to a halt. As it subsided, they widened their eyes to find Kevin and Sabo standing in front of them.
"Uh-uh," the former of the two said with a shake of his head, absorbing the metal in his colleague's pipe to coat his body in it, "Gotta try and get through us first," he remarked, taking a ready stance. As he watched the conflicts of his colleagues starting, James started breathing heavily with anger. He looked toward Ben, glaring at him.
"You…" he growled out, aiming his cannon at his target.
"Oh, crap…" he muttered, quickly dodging and rolling aside to evade the green beam shot his way, blasting apart a good chunk of the walkway they were upon.
"General, wait!" Winter exclaimed as she went over and grabbed James' arm, "He's unarmed!" she pointed out, "I don't think—!"
"You're not stopping me!" the general interrupted, firing again as he shoved the special operative's arm off of him. This time, his blast struck the ground to knock Ben off his feet, making him land on his back in a grunt. He gasped for breath as his vision blurred. He could barely make out the figure of James approaching him. "I know we've had our differences, but I did respect your leadership, if only for a moment," he admitted to the Omni Force leader, who grimaced, "You brought this on yourself…" he noted as his cannon charged with green energy.
"That's enough, James!" another voice called out, causing him to blink in surprise. He recognized the voice as Oscar, but the tone was… distinctly familiar. He turned to find the former farmhand there, having The Long Memory's cane extended as he had both of his hands atop it. The general couldn't forget that visage.
"Oz…?" he uttered out, sounding shocked.
X
"Peh…!" Harriet spat, bringing herself up onto her feet, "Huh…" she exhaled angrily, "Should've known you'd live through all that…" she grumbled toward Wendy, who merely glared back at her, "Think you can take me on, runt?" she questioned, raising her fists. The Sky Dragon Slayer didn't respond, keeping her eyes narrowed. Her opponent growled again. "Fine…" she uttered.
Her eyes flashed gold before she dashed forward in an instant. Wendy quickly crossed her arms to block the straight punch from her right fist, gnashing her teeth together. The wind swirled around her legs before she floated up and attempted a roundhouse kick onto the mohawk-haired Ace Operative. She withstood it, grabbing her by her leg and throwing her up against the wall upside down.
What followed was the Sky Dragon Slayer moving aside just before Harriet could slam her right fist into her face, bashing through the academy wall. She snarled again, dashing after her foe. Meanwhile, Vine grimaced as he used his Aura-formed arms to shield himself from the torrents of fire shot his way by Sabo, who expelled flames from his left hand.
Elm tried to help her comrade, but was blocked off by Kevin, who morphed his right arm into the shape of a hammer in order to clash against hers. As the battles raged on, James was still looking toward the approaching Ozpin. When they last spoke, things had gotten significantly worse in Remnant. And with what happened in Vale, it worsened.
"Oz…" he uttered again, tightening his grip on his cannon, "So this is your plan?" he inquired, turning his attention back onto Ben, "Make me let my guard down and then strike?" he assumed.
"No, our plan was exactly as Ben said it was," the former headmaster responded, "We wanted to talk you down, James," he pointed out, "I know that when you have your sights set on an objective, you achieve it by any means necessary," he recalled, stepping forward, "But this?" he said, gesturing towards the battles happening around them, "All of this will be meaningless, especially if you try to kill thousands more that you could still save," he told him, "If we work together now, we can put an end to this," he affirmed, "We can still save the lives of this kingdom before Salem returns and takes control of her armies again," he assured on. The general lowered his cannon again, but his rage was far from quelled.
"What if it's not enough?" he inquired to Ozpin's surprise, "What if what you propose gets us all killed?" he questioned on.
"It's a risk we have to take," Ben responded as he stood up, getting his attention. There was a brief silence. And then James whipped around, aiming his cannon toward the Omni Force leader as it buzzed with energy. But in that same moment, Winter's sword was at his throat. He looked to see her there with a determined visage.
"That's enough, General," she insisted firmly.
"Winter, why would you—?!" Before James could finish, he was suddenly met with a fist to his face from Tifa, sending him flying back. Both of his revolvers had gotten detached from his cannon as it fell onto the ground, with him still holding onto the black one in his left hand as he grimaced. Ben picked up the white one off the ground, turning to his colleagues and nodding.
"Guess this was always how it was gonna be…" he remarked to the general. He snarled, firing off a shot towards his enemies. In the meantime, Kevin continued to parry Elm's barrage of blows onto him. She slammed her Timber against him multiple times, making the ground crack beneath his feet as he keeled over onto his right knee.
"HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" she roared, ready to crush him with her weapon once and for all. But he managed to catch it before it struck, absorbing its metal to coat his body. He cracked a smirk, enlarging his hands to crush the head of the hammer in a blast that knocked the burly woman down onto the ground in a grunt. She widened her eyes at the sight of her headless hammer.
Elsewhere in the area, Vine's Aura-formed tendrils were allowing him to pull himself away from the incoming flames shot from Sabo, who grunted with frustration. He then took notice of Elm's current situation, gasping in realization. He extended an Aura-formed arm out to grab her before Kevin could attack her again, pulling her in.
"We need to secure the payload," he advised seriously, earning a nod in agreement from her. Meanwhile, Harriet was still battling against Wendy, speeding around and hitting her from every angle possible. Blood splattered about the dock and the grass at the entrance as the Sky Dragon Slayer was struggling to keep up with her foe. She ended up taking a right hook to her face, stumbling back from the blow.
'Wendy… let me handle this…' the voice from before insisted in her head, making her wince.
"No!" she refused vehemently, whipping around to have her left fist collide with that of the mohawk-haired Ace Operative's. What followed was her gnashing her teeth together as her eyes and hair shined a bright pink. The wind swirled mightily around her. "Sky Dragon…" she started to chant, "WAVE WIND!" she exclaimed, swinging her hand to generate a large, powerful tornado that enveloped her opponent. She tried to run through it, but found herself pulled in, getting flung around before being thrown through the hole in the wall of the academy. As the wind subsided, the Sky Dragon Slayer breathed heavily as her hair and eyes went back to normal.
'You're more than exhausted by now, Wendy…' the voice in her head noted, trying to get her attention, 'I can help end this!' she affirmed, 'If you'd just give me control, then—!'
"I'm not… letting you take over my body…" the Fairy Tail wizard vowed, taking a deep breath before running towards the hole in the wall where she had thrown Harriet. As she went inside though, she found that the mohawk-haired Ace Operative wasn't there. It turned out that she was hurrying through the academy halls, meeting up with Elm and Vine.
"They completely got us…" the burly woman of the trio noted aloud, holding what remained of her Timber in her hands.
"We should've just went for the hangar in the first place," Vine inferred, "I'm sure Winter and the general would've been able to—"
"Shut up!" Harriet yelled as they turned a corner, "Let's just do our jobs!" she insisted firmly. She and the others arrived in the hangar soon afterward, only to be greeted by the burned remnants of an Atlesian Knight falling to their feet. Enji, Robyn, Qrow and Raven were shooting and slicing down the android soldiers as quickly as they could, with the former of the quartet unleashing thin beams of fire from his fingertips to pierce through a half-dozen of them.
Meanwhile, Tifa rolled aside to avoid James' shots onto her. She then lunged out, only for him to take aim with his revolver. However, it was shot out of his hand by Ben, clattering onto the walkway. That allowed for the bar hostess to land a straight punch to the general's chest with her right fist, followed by her left.
As she tried to hit him again, he grabbed her wrist. He attempted to punch her, but Ozpin joined the fray, striking him at his head with his cane before taking a hit to his stomach, getting sent flying back. Ben came in and landed a haymaker to the back of James' head, making him stumble forward. He turned around and gnashed his teeth, glaring at the Omni Force leader as he pumped his fists, holding them up like a boxer.
They charged at each other, exchanging blows and parrying them quickly. At one point, Ben found himself having to catch both of the general's fists with his hands, being forced down to his knees as he grimaced. All of a sudden though, a foot kicked James aside, belonging to Emerald. He slid back a few feet before blinking in surprise.
"You're working with them…?!" he growled out. He charged in again, only to be met by Ozpin and Tifa as they lunged towards him. Back in the hangar, the Ace Operatives were ready to charge into battle against their four foes. However…
"Stay!" Marrow's voice commanded, causing them to stop in their tracks as their bodies completely froze. Harriet painstakingly moved her eyes with a growl to see the canine Faunus slowly approaching, pointing his index finger at her and his former colleagues. Outside, the battle raged on as Tifa continued to parry and counter James' blows, forcing him on the defensive.
He then took notice of Winter and Ozpin coming towards him atop a Manticore summon, courtesy of the former. Grimacing, the general held his hands out to stop it as the bar hostess he was fighting leapt aside. He grabbed the summon by its horns, but its riders had already leapt off.
The special operative thrusted her sword out, creating a glyph that shot a couple icy projectiles. Just as James made the Manticore summon disappear into white ashes, he was struck in the back by the projectiles. Winter landed down, bringing forth a black glyph to catch Ozpin. It propelled him toward the general, who didn't even have a moment to properly react before he was struck by his foe's cane. He unleashed a flurry of jabs at his target's front, making his blue Aura shimmer.
He stumbled back in a grunt, and the former headmaster pressed on, hoping to finish the fight sooner than later. However, the general caught his cane with his gloved right hand. He reared his left fist back, ready to attack. But suddenly, he felt his arm get grabbed from behind. It was Ben, who gritted his teeth.
"Do it!" he yelled out. Moving too fast for anyone to react, Winter raced by. James could only watch as she slashed him across the chest with her sword, causing his Aura to dissipate into ashes. He fell onto his knees, breathing heavily as he looked ready to collapse. Back in the hangar, the detached, sparking head of an Atlesian Knight hit the floor, with one of Robyn's crossbow bolts embedded in it.
"Sorry guys…" Qrow apologized as all of the android soldiers had been dealt with, "but we don't wanna fight," he stated.
"We didn't wanna drop Atlas either," Robyn admitted as she took the bolt out from the sparking head on the floor, "but we've all had to make some tough calls, huh?" she noted.
"That we can agree on," Enji confirmed, walking over alongside Raven and Marrow. Outside, Ben grabbed the black revolver of Due Process, stepping out in front of the barely conscious James. Emerald came over alongside Tifa, carrying the Biomnitrix gauntlets in her arms. They watched with the others as the Omni Force leader and the general stared at each other.
"It's over, James…" he said with a heavy breath, "You're not going to get what you want," he affirmed on, "Not while you put lives on the line," he added with a shake of his head. The general panted with exhaustion. Everyone around him was prepared to keep fighting if necessary. He grimaced upon knowing that he had lost.
"I'm… never going to stop…" he declared firmly. Hearing that made Ben grip the weapon in his hand tightly. "So you know what you have to do, right?" he inquired of his enemy, tilting his head slightly to the side.
"Wh-What?" the Omni Force leader stuttered out, starting to grow nervous. Everyone else around shared worried glances. James chuckled a little, almost evilly.
"You need to kill me…" he said to the shock of Ben, "It's as simple as that," he confirmed, "All of this ends if you just put me down like a mad dog…" he remarked as the Omni Force leader started to hyperventilate. He was going through flashes of his recent ordeals, including witnessing the death of Rex Salazar and killing Adam Taurus. He grimaced, holding his weapon up.
"Ben?" Winter uttered, blinking in astonishment. Tifa and Emerald lightly gasped.
"That's it…" James quietly pointed out, "Kill me like you did Adam, and you'll be in control…" he promised. The Omni Force leader's grip on the trigger tightened as he leveled the barrel of his weapon at the general's head. He breathing was starting to get sporadic. All the voices screaming for him to stop were drowned out by his own memories. The feelings he remembered from killing Adam were coming back. Guilt, regret, fear, shame… They all plagued his mind in that moment. "Do it…" James insisted as Ben shut his eyes, trying to block him out, "DO IT!" he yelled.
A gunshot went off. The echo of it was deafening to those nearby as they widened their eyes. A bullet was lodged in the ground right behind the general, with smoke wafting off from it. He looked back at it in shock before turning to the Omni Force leader. With a deep exhale, he lowered the revolver in his hands.
"I wasn't lying when I said you were like me, James…" he admitted, "We both took chances and sacrificed a lot to make things better for the people we care about," he noted on through deep breaths, "But there's still a difference now…" he pointed out, gripping the gun's hammer, "When I killed Adam, when I went after Salem…" he listed off in remembrance, "I didn't have a choice," he said, shaking his head slightly, "And I did it for my friends," he added firmly as he stepped forward. The general's expression shifted into one of genuine fear. "You always had a choice, even after Salem got in your head," Ben growled out, "And you did it for yourself…" he mentioned. He then slammed the revolver's hammer against the side of James' head, knocking him out onto the ground.
A moment passed before the Omni Force leader dropped the weapon in his hand, falling onto his knees. He sobbed into his gloved right hand as everyone looked on worriedly. Ozpin especially understood the kind of turmoil and hardship that his colleague had gone through.
'Oz… you oughta' let me handle this,' Oscar insisted in his mind. With a flash of gold in his eyes, the former headmaster granted control of the body back to the former farmhand. He withdrew The Long Memory's cane, placing it onto the back of his belt before approaching the crying Ben. He crouched down and put and hand onto his shoulder.
"It's gonna be okay," he promised. With a sniffle, the Omni Force leader pulled himself together, giving off a small grin after wiping his teary eyes. The others came over, with Winter picking up the revolvers and Tifa grabbing the cannon piece of Due Process. Emerald handed Ben his Biomnitrix gauntlets, which he set onto his wrists as a green glow came off of them.
"Alright…" the special operative of the group uttered, putting her gloved fingers up to the earpiece in her right ear, "We're clear to move on phase two," she communicated.
"Copy!" her sister's voice responded.
"Ben, are you okay?" Blake asked through the line, getting the Omni Force leader's attention.
"Yeah…" he answered, bringing his hand up to his right ear, "Yeah, I'm fine, Kit-Kat," he assured, standing up, "Gaara and I'll be ready when you guys finish up," he affirmed on.
"Okay, good," Ruby's voice replied, "Get going, everyone," she instructed. With that, Winter and Tifa picked up the unconscious James, while Emerald and Oscar headed into the academy. Taking a deep breath, Ben calmed himself. This was supposed to be the easy part of the plan. The rest was about to fall into place…
X
"So, that takes care of phase one," Blake remarked, standing aboard a Manta alongside Ruby, Weiss, Yang, Peter, Danny, and Gaara. The airship was haphazardly drifting up to the large hole in the base of Atlas' floating landmass.
"And while Penny and Jenny go to make sure that she can't be hacked again, we secure the Vault," the ex-heiress advised.
"Sounds easy enough, especially considering the giant hole Oscar opened for us," the web-slinger chimed in, stretching his arms.
"We can never be too careful," Ruby insisted in response, putting her fingers onto her earpiece, "Jenny, Penny, what's your status?" she asked.
"We're heading to the lab now," the former of the two robot girls replied over the communication line, "For some reason, there aren't as many guards as we thought there'd be…" she mentioned to the surprise of those listening in.
"Worry about that after getting the sword, okay?" the silver-eyed huntress responded, "We'll meet you at the Vault," she declared, ending the communication. At that moment, the side door opened. Everyone looked up at the giant hole in the floating landmass, exchanging worried glances with each other.
Weiss turned to those in the cockpit, as Klein was piloting while the rest of her family looked on. She shot them a thumbs up in reassurance, which the butler returned. Rings of light zipped up and down Danny's body as he assumed his ghost form.
"Okay, we'll lead the way," he decided, flying up as his legs came together in the form of a wispy tail. Peter shot a pair of web lines, tugging on them before launching himself up like ammo from a slingshot. Gaara formed a platform of sand to step onto, floating up into the hole. That left Team RWBY, as their leader turned to them and took a deep breath.
"Are you sure you can do this?" her sister asked out of concern.
"Yeah, it'll be fun," she responded, taking another concentrated deep breath. Yang arched an eyebrow, looking over to Blake. She merely shook her head out of fear. But before any of the girls could say anything, Ruby burst into a cluster of rose petals, snatching up her teammates and flying up the hole with them.
The young men were already in the Vault, looking around cautiously for signs of any resistance. At that moment, the cluster of rose petals came up the shaft to the landing. The team of huntresses landed down, reforming as red petals wafted off from them.
"We all clear?" Weiss asked.
"For now, yeah," Danny responded, landing on the floor as he reformed his legs.
"This is… a lot different than the last Vault I remember…" Yang noted, putting her hands onto her hips as she looked around, unaware of the figures watching from the shadows, "But hey, at least now we don't have to worry about any bad guys," she pointed out with a grin.
"Yang!" Ruby and Peter shouted.
"What?" the blonde-haired huntress uttered, raising her left eyebrow. As if on cue, a huge swarm of drones came down towards the group. They were sleek and white in appearance, each having dual, laser-sighted miniguns that were trained on their targets.
"…You were saying?" Peter muttered in question sarcastically.
"Huh…" Yang sighed out, "I know…" she grumbled, readying her weapons along with her colleagues. As the fighting started, Jenny and Penny had just arrived at the lab. They jogged in, looking to find that most of the room had apparently gotten ransacked.
The former of the two robot girls went through drawers and boxes in search of her friend's sword. In all likelihood, James took it for safekeeping, and it was in a secured location. The Winter Maiden looked around the workbench before catching a glint of something beneath it. She bent over and lightly gasped.
"I found it!" she exclaimed, making Jenny perk up as she looked over to see her fellow robot girl stand up with the blade in her hands.
"Oh, thank goodness…" she sighed with relief, walking over.
"They must have believed that after using the sword to implant the virus, it was no longer necessary," Penny inferred, opening the guard with her bare strength.
"Wait, what are you doing?" Jenny asked, seeing her rip out the circuitry inside, "Don't you need it?" she inquired on. The Winter Maiden blinked in surprise as she found the chip with Arthur's insignia upon it. She reached down to grab it with her fingers, pulling it out before crushing it into pieces in her hand.
"Our goal was to make the virus could not pose a threat to me again," she pointed out, "And I have many more swords, Jenny," she mentioned, "They're not what make me… well, me," she noted. Hearing that, her fellow robot girl let out a laugh.
"Right…" she agreed, "Sorry…" she apologized.
"It's okay," Penny assured, "Now then, we have to go to the Vault," she said, getting ready to head off. However, she was stopped as Jenny grabbed her by her arm. She looked to her in confusion, seeing the guilty expression upon her face. "What is wrong?" she asked worriedly. A sigh left her friend's lips.
"I never got to say sorry for… hurting you…" she pointed out, "It's just… you were fighting against the virus and telling me to stop you, so…" she continued, grimacing a little from the memories.
"Jenny…" the Winter Maiden uttered, putting a hand onto her cheek, "In that sense, I should also apologize," she noted, much to the surprise of her fellow robot girl, "I hurt you and our other friends," she remembered, "I had almost no control of myself…" she added as she looked away ashamedly, "But you helped save me," she said with a smile, making Jenny widen her eyes slightly, "Our friends helped save me…" she mentioned, "Knowing that, I believe there is no reason for either of us to be sorry," she concluded with a shake of her head.
"Yeah, you're right…" Jenny agreed, letting out a little giggle. There then was a brief silence as the two robot girls locked eyes again. And suddenly, Penny felt herself compelled to step closer. As she did, she realized was only inches away from the Omni Force member, who blushed a bright blue.
"Do you… also feel strange around me?" the Winter Maiden asked her. She widened her eyes in realization, letting out a soft laugh.
"Yeah, actually…" she responded, "Like… how I wanna always be with you…" she admitted, much to her fellow robot girl's surprise.
"I… want to always be with you, too…" she confessed in response. They shared a giggle, followed by drawing closer to each other. Leaning their heads in and closing their eyes, they finally kissed. It was an electric sensation, with them wrapping their arms around each other as their lips remained locked for quite a while. They finally disconnected, looking at each other longingly. The silence remained for a few more moments. "That… was…"
"Strange?" Jenny guessed, interrupting Penny as she blinked in surprise. She then giggled.
"Very strange," she agreed, sharing a laugh with the Omni Force member, "Can… we do it again?" she requested. Chuckling, her fellow robot girl leaned in, attempting to kiss her once more. But all of a sudden…
"Uh, Penny, what's your status?!" Ruby's voice asked from the communication line established, getting their attentions as they snapped away from their romantic moment.
"Ruby, is everything okay?" the Winter Maiden questioned as she put her fingers up to the communicator in her right ear.
"Ironwood set up drones in the Vault in case anyone else came in!" the silver-eyed huntress responded, "We're taking care of 'em right now, but we could use some backup!" she pointed out over the sounds of gunshots in the background.
"Ruby, we just took care of Penny's sword," Jenny confirmed, chiming into the conversation, "We're on our way," she assured. She and the Winter Maiden then hurried off, holding hands as they left the lab. They had finally admitted their feelings for each other. And now, they had to wonder where it would take them…
X
"You just had to jinx us, didn't you?" Peter remarked, flipping back to evade the gunfire from the multiple drones coming towards him, firing rapidly. Yang blasted herself over and punched one hard with her metal fist, sending it crashing into two others before they plummeted into the abyss below the Vault.
"To be fair, we should've expected at least something…" she argued with a shrug.
"Not helping, Yang!" Weiss shouted, piercing an incoming drone with her Myrtenaster's blade. She chucked it aside in a grunt.
"Right, right…" the blonde-haired huntress repeated in understanding, "Let's just do this…" she muttered, blasting herself over to help deal with more of the drones. Some of them were installed with flamethrowers, raining fire down onto Ruby and Blake. They zipped away instantaneously with their respective Semblances, distracting the drones long enough for an invisible Danny to phase through them, freezing them up in ice as they fell and shattered upon the floor.
"Ugh!" the silver-eyed girl of the group groaned, "Just how many of these things did Ironwood put here?!" she inquired aloud.
"Makes sense considering the McGuffin behind the door there…" Peter remarked as he landed beside her, firing off a few web grenades that attached to some of the drones. They exploded into webs that ensnared them, making them crash into others as blasts echoed about the Vault. Blake pulled out her Gambol Shroud's katana, using it to slash through a half-dozen drones as their pieces fell down into the abyss below the landing.
"We're almost done!" she affirmed to the group, shifting her weapon into its pistol form and firing onto a few more of the drones. However, it seemed as if more of them were still coming. Everyone appeared to grimace, standing close to each other as they looked around. All of a sudden though, mounds of sand shot out and entrapped each of the drones. Blinking in surprise, Yang looked over to Gaara, who held his hands out.
"Sand Coffin!" he exclaimed, closing his extremities into fists. The sand around the drones compressed and crushed them instantaneously. As it flew back to the Kazekage, the remnants of the drones were dropped into the abyss.
"Whoa…" the blonde-haired huntress uttered out in surprise, "Nice move," she complimented to her boyfriend, who had most of the sand flow back into his gourd.
"It's not one I'm overly fond of…" he responded to her confusion as she blinked, "Sorry for the delay," he apologized to the others, "It takes a moment for me to gather enough sand," he told them.
"Hey, no biggie," Peter responded with a shrug, "So long as nothing else shoots at us, we're good," he assured. Ruby smacked herself in the face. "…I just jinxed us, didn't I?" the web-slinger assumed upon noticing her reaction.
"Yes, I'm sure you did…" she replied with a slight glare toward him. In fact, there was one drone still lurking about, ready to fire onto the group. However, a green laser beam streaked in and struck it, causing it to fall down onto the floor as everyone looked over in surprise. The whirring of the elevator coming down got their attentions as they saw both Penny and Jenny aboard it. The former of the two had a couple of her Floating Array's blades deployed, placing them back into her pack.
"Hello, friends!" she greeted as the lift docked, allowing her and her fellow robot girl to step off onto the landing, "I detect no more resistance in the immediate area," she confirmed to the group, "We are all clear," she added assuredly.
"Oh, thank goodness…" Ruby sighed with relief. Meanwhile, Yang took notice of the fact that Penny and Jenny were holding hands.
"Uh… did something else happen?" she inquired as she pointed at them. The pair of robot girls looked at their held hands and then at each other.
"You… could say that…" Jenny finally responded with a blue blush on her cheeks, while Penny giggled. Everyone smiled, happy for them.
"Okay, time to get this thing open," Peter noted. Ruby put her fingers up to the communicator in her right ear.
"Everyone, we're about to access the Vault," she informed her colleagues, "What's your status?" she inquired.
"Team Junior's here at comms with Oscar, Emerald, and Hazel!" Jaune responded over the line.
"We've secured the hangar, kiddo," Qrow chimed in, "Just need to get the bomb taken care of," he mentioned.
"And we're about to place Ironwood in a stockade," Winter added.
"Okay, we're clear to make our move," the silver-eyed huntress confirmed. The group then began their approach to the door. As they did, the steps suddenly flew out and came together, providing a way up to the door upon reacting to the group's presence.
"How does this work again, exactly?" Danny inquired, assuming his human form as rings of light flowed up and down his body.
"All Penny needs to do is use her Maiden powers to open the Vault, then we can grab the Staff," Ruby explained in reply.
"Sounds easy enough…" Peter remarked as a response, "Let's hope there's not a catch…" he grumbled, earning himself an elbowing from Yang, "Ow," he uttered in faux-pain. The group arrived at the door. The Winter Maiden took a deep breath. Her green energy flares reappeared around her eyes as she extended her hand out, pressing it against the gold-colored frame. Upon making contact, the door's engravings glowed an icy blue. The door itself came down piece by piece, with everyone looking in awe. When it finally opened all the way, the group looked inside.
It was a dimension that resembled a lush green open meadow with yellow, blue and white flowers, as well as three stone circles leading from the door to the Relic of Creation. The Staff was housed hovering between two stone pillars in the center of the Vault. Everyone present stepped inside, as Ruby was the first to approach the Staff. She grabbed it, closing her eyes in concentration.
As this happened, time slowed to crawl everywhere else and eventually stopped. Jaune's group was in front of a broadcast terminal at the moment, while Winter and Tifa were escorting the unconscious James to a holding cell adjacent to the former's father's, with Ben watching on. Cyan smoke billowed from the jewel topping the staff as everyone in the Vault looked on in awe.
"Oh, please tell me we're not getting another genie…" Peter muttered.
"Genie?" Penny repeated in confusion. The smoke was starting to settle as a figure was emerging from it. His appearance was similar to that of a human, but much larger. His skin was blue that glowed and gave off smoke, similarly to the Relic itself. He had elongated, pointed ears, and lacked some human anatomy. He also had short, spiky light blue hair with a long ponytail leading down to his thighs. His eyes were dark blue in the sclera and pupils and a lighter blue in the irises.
He appeared nude-like and wore only various accessories, all of which were gold: stud earrings, gold ring for his ponytail, arm ring on his left upper arm, bracers on his wrists with chains dangling from them like broken shackles, vine like ornaments on his right thigh and left lower leg, and an ankle bracelet on his right and chains around his torso crossing his chest, and terminating in a point resembling the Relic.
"Ah!" he gasped with relief, "It seems someone has come to engage my creative wiles!" he proclaimed excitedly, "All I'll say is it had better be worth it after my last project…" he muttered as he turned away with disdain, crossing his arms, "A floating city?" he recalled, letting out a scoff, "How pedestrian…" he grumbled.
"Oh, why is he naked? Why is he naked?" Peter repeated in question, covering his eyes.
"Really?" Weiss said, arching an eyebrow toward him.
"I do not believe he is considered naked, as you cannot see a p—"
"Okay, we're not finishing that sentence!" Jenny insisted, slapping a hand over Penny's mouth to silence her in the nick of time. Ruby stepped forward.
"Hi… um… Mister Ambrosius?" she said, getting the spirit's attention, "Before we go ahead and ask you what we'd like made…" she continued, "we wanted to ask you a few things," she told him.
"Uh, you do know you're talking a being of creation, right?" he inquired back as he inspected his nails, unconcerned, "Not exactly one to know all…" he noted as was floating upside down.
"N-No, that's what I—!"
"What she means is that we'd like to show you something first," Gaara said, chiming in for the stuttering Ruby, who sighed and gave him a grateful smile. They then looked over to Yang, prompting her to step forward. She pulled out the container her biological mother had given her, opening it up to reveal the shining Reality Stone. Ambrosius' eyes flicked down curiously.
"And what might this be?" he wondered as he floated closer.
"From what we've heard, it's called the Reality Stone," Gaara answered. Humming curiously, the spirit snapped his fingers to conjure what looked like a jeweler's magnifying glass. He inspected the stone before pulling himself back.
"Well, what a treat!" he exclaimed, "First time out of that staff in what felt like decades, and I get to see one of the six pieces of creation itself!" he pointed out excitedly. Those of the group all looked to each other in confusion.
"I'm sorry, what?" Peter apologized, shaking his head.
"That rock in your hands is one of the six singularities that were born from the beginning of the multiverse," Ambrosius explained in reply, "Obviously, you've got the Reality Stone right there," he noted, "and there's five others," he told them as he held up his right hand, "Power, Space, Time, Soul, and Mind," he listed off.
"And I thought he said he wasn't going to give us information…" Blake mumbled, earning a silent chuckle out of Weiss.
"So what exactly is this stone doing here?" the spirit inquired as he looked at the object in Yang's possession again, "I mean, I know this is a multiverse and all, but…" he continued, "this isn't the universe where that thing comes from," he said with a shake of his head.
"We don't know," the blonde-haired huntress replied, "All we do know is that someone's been using it for centuries to try and destroy the world…" she told him.
"Hmmm…" he hummed again, rubbing his chin, "Let me see that again for a second…" he requested, grasping the Reality Stone before conjuring his magnifying glass again. He inspected the glowing rock closely. "I'm assuming your request has something to do with this stone, correct?" he inquired of the group. Ruby nodded.
"Our world's separated from the rest of the multiverse because of that stone," she explained, "And we're hoping you could maybe use it to… I dunno…" she kept going unsurely, "reconnect the multiverse?" she said with a shrug.
"Well, I see what's happening here…" Ambrosius noted as he continued to inspect the Reality Stone, "There's a barrier around this universe, keeping it locked away from the rest of the multiverse beyond it," he pointed out, letting his magnifying glass disappear in a puff of smoke, "I've noticed that some of you present are from the multiverse…" he mentioned, crossing his arms over his chest.
"Yeah," Peter responded as he stepped forward, "So is there a way you could… break that barrier somehow?" he inquired. The spirit rolled his eyes and groaned.
"Once again, I'm a being of creation, not destruction…" he muttered as a reply, "Now that one's a piece of work, let me tell ya…" he grumbled additionally.
"Huh…" Ruby sighed.
"It's okay," Yang assured, putting a hand onto her shoulder, "That was just an option in case we could get the rest of the team here," she pointed out, "We've still got our evac plan," she mentioned.
"Well, if you all don't have anything for me to do, then I'll go and take my leave…" Ambrosius mumbled as he stretched his arms and legs.
"Actually, we do," the blonde-haired huntress affirmed, getting his attention. He returned the Reality Stone to her, allowing her to put it back into its container. "Can you make a bunch of doorways in Atlas that open at a single spot in Vacuo?" she inquired of him, holding her left pointer finger up.
"Sure!" Ambrosius responded, "I'll just need coordinates and specs for each door, an explanation for bending space and time to account for the much greater traffic on one side and the single point of exit on the other," he told the group quickly, befuddling quite a few of them.
"Okay, that's about what we expected…" Weiss grumbled, clutching her forehead in irritation, "So, we need to funnel everybody through a central location first," she noted.
"You're going to have to tell me more about this central location," the spirit noted as he checked his fingernails, "For starters, uh… where is it?" he asked.
"Here," Gaara answered, getting his attention, "A place like these Vaults," he pointed out, "Wherever they are, they're not part of Remnant," he noted, "Only accessible if you know the right way in," he mentioned on.
"Seems like a safe enough place for thousands of refugees," his girlfriend added, putting her hands onto her hips. Ambrosius chuckled out of amusement.
"You kids are either smart…" he started to say as he crossed his arms, "or much more foolish than you realize…" he said, letting out a sigh.
"Hey, we take risks with our ideas," Peter noted with a shrug, "It's what we do," he declared, earning an earnest smile from Ruby.
"I'm going to need a reference…" the spirit pointed out to the group.
"Oh, we've got one," Weiss assured in response, pulling out her Scroll to project a holographic screen. Upon it were the schematics of the Snow Shoe Shipping pneumatic tube delivery system, as well as the Atlesian Military Compound where all the tubes connected. Ambrosius looked at them closely, as the ex-heiress went through various images to give him more to work with.
He let off a little smile, taking a meditative stance and concentrating briefly. He clapped his hands together, making some complex hand gestures rather quickly. In the doorway to the Vault appeared a glowing blue portal bordered by a yellow frame.
"Whoa…" Peter uttered out in amazement. In an extradimensional space, a network of those portals appear, linked by bridges of light, all leading to a central platform funneling into a particularly large doorway. In the distance, a large wireframe of a globe and support struts were visible against the backdrop of a dark sky filled with cyan and orange mist.
Similar portals were appearing wherever the people of Atlas and Mantle are gathered: in the subway stations; and in Mantle crater. One popped up near where May, Joanna, Fiona, Kim, Genji and Obi-Wan were standing. The former of the group experimentally reached into it, and the sheep Faunus was shocked to see that her arm didn't come out the other side.
"Seems they've done it…" the Jedi noted, "Everyone!" he called out to those in the crater, "Head into the portals, single file!" he instructed of them, "We'll be out of danger in no time," he assured. Joanna and May shared a determined look, while Kim shot a grin toward Genji.
"People enter from Atlas and Mantle on one side…" Weiss noted from back in the Vault, "and leave on the other side, with a one-way ticket to Vacuo," she explained thoroughly as Joanna moved through the portal, and after a rush of speeding light, stepped into the extradimensional space aboard the platform. Following a brief look around, she turned to head back, ready to guide everyone.
"Well, everything appears to be in order…" Ambrosius said, looking at the schematics on the holographic projection once again to make sure he hadn't forgotten anything, "You were quite thorough," he complimented, "disappointingly so…" he mentioned, lazily settling into a reclined position in midair, putting his feet up. The ex-heiress turned off her Scroll, pocketing it.
"So… it's done?" she inquired.
"Yeah…" he responded, waving the group away as he seemed apparently bored. They traded looks of contentment, ready to head out of the Vault. "Oh!" the spirit yelped upon remembering something, "And one last point of clarification about this central location of yours…" he said, floating upright as everyone turned to him in concern, "Do not fall," he advised seriously. The group now traded uneasy looks. "Okay, and with that dire warning…!" Ambrosius began, taking a bow and disappearing in a puff of cyan smoke.
"Okay… that didn't sound good…" Peter admitted.
"We need to make sure everything else is in order," Gaara insisted of the group, while Ruby collapsed the Staff of Creation into a more portable form.
"Right," she agreed, handing the staff off to Penny before taking out her Scroll and activating it. However, she was surprised to find the 'NO COMMUNICATIONS' notification upon her screen. "What the…?" she uttered in confusion, tapping the Hard-Light screen.
"Comms are down…" Blake noted, having taken out her own device.
"But… how?" Yang wondered aloud.
"Maybe Ironwood put in a failsafe just in case we tried anything…" Weiss inferred.
"No, I don't think that's it…" Danny responded with a shake of his head, "Either way, we've gotta get through here, and fast," he insisted of the group. They all nodded in agreement. There was really no time to spare…
X
As time was no longer stopped everywhere else, Qrow, Raven and Robyn sheathed their weapons, trusting Marrow to hold the remaining Ace-Ops in place with his Semblance as he pointed at them. Enji looked over to the dropship where the bomb was, heading over to it. In the meantime, the military complex rumbled as Jaune and his group stood before the broadcast terminal.
"I guess that's the signal then…" the blonde-haired huntsman realized, looking at the holographic screen above the terminal, "Seems like things are moving forward in the Vault…" he noted as he started typing on the keyboard. Several windows started popping up as he did.
"I hope everyone's okay…" Nora said.
"If Atlas is moving, we need to get word out before people panic," Oscar instructed of the group.
"Meaning hurry…!" Emerald muttered toward Jaune with her arms folded underneath her chest.
"I know, I know!" he responded repeatedly, tapping another button. A red circle with the word 'LIVE' next to it appeared on the top left corner of the screen. His colleagues blinked in surprise, "Okay, this should be, um…" he tried to say, "That did, uh, something?" he assumed with a shrug.
"You're live," Ren noted.
"Everyone can see you," Emerald's voice pointed out as the broadcast was going out on devices all around Atlas and Mantle.
"Oh!" Jaune yelped in realization, quickly clearing his throat, "Citizens of Atlas, Mantle," he began, "what we have to tell you is very important," he stated, "Atlas is falling, but—!" His image blinked out, being replaced on all devices by a NO SIGNAL banner and a color test card. He blinked in surprise from the terminal. "Wait, what happened?!" he asked frantically.
"It's dead!" Ren exclaimed, "The entire CCT… it just went down!" he pointed out.
"And so did Kingdom-wide communications…" Nora mentioned as she held up her Scroll, which was displaying the same color test card on its screen, "How?!" she questioned.
"The bigger question is… what do we do now?" Oscar wondered. At that moment, the door to the terminal opened, with Kevin walking in.
"Portals are up!" he confirmed to the group. They exchanged worried glances for a moment before taking on determined looks, vowing to remedy this setback however they could. Meanwhile, Tifa and Winter had just set James down onto a bench in a holding cell, which they promptly locked. The special operative frowned at the sight of the sudden signal disruption upon her Scroll.
"That boy said Atlas is falling…" Jacques noted from the cell adjacent to the general's, "Is that true?" he inquired in panic.
"Yes," his eldest daughter replied, "We're using the Staff to get everyone to safety," she told him, turning off her Scroll and pocketing it, "Salem can have whatever's left in the end…" she muttered, "We'll all be long gone," she pointed out, turning to leave.
"Are you…?!" he tried to ask as he reached out, only for the Hard-Light barrier of his cell to buzz against his hands, "Are you going to leave me here?!" he questioned emphatically out of fright. Winter paused at the doorway.
"No," she answered, "When we're finished, we'll move both of you to safety," she promised.
"Oh, Winter… thank you…" Jacques responded gratefully, "I-!"
"Don't thank me," his eldest daughter interjected, rounding upon him out of annoyance, "It was Weiss' decision…" she pointed out, much to his surprise. Another rumble went off.
"Guess that's my cue," Ben concluded, heading towards the opening in the stockade, "I'll let you two get everything else sorted," he said, ready to head off.
"Ben, wait," Winter insisted, making him pause, "Huh…" she sighed out, "I never got to apologize to you…" she noted with an ashamed look on her face.
"For… what exactly?" the Omni Force leader inquired, arching an eyebrow.
"For not trying to ease your burdens," the special operative replied, "You had done so much for Atlas, yet you were constantly throwing every important responsibility onto yourself," she recalled, "I wish…" she continued, taking a deep breath, "I wish I took on some of those responsibilities," she admitted, "if it meant helping you just a little," she added. Hearing that, Ben lowered his gaze in thought. He let out a small sigh.
"I was going to keep myself working hard no matter what anyone said," he confirmed, "No need to feel sorry for me, Ice Queen," he noted with a shake of his head, "I'm the one who's sorry for worrying you," he confessed. A silent chuckle left the special operative's lips before she saw him depart, running and jumping out of the opening of the stockade. He enveloped himself in a flash of green light, transforming into Kryptoknight before flying underneath the floating city.
"Okay, let's go," Tifa insisted, earning a nod in response from Winter before they hurried off. Back at the Vault, Ruby and the others felt another rumble.
"Yep, that's definitely Atlas falling…" Peter confirmed.
"Then I need to go," Gaara said, turning to his girlfriend, "I'll see you soon, I promise," he vowed, putting his hands onto her shoulders. She just grinned.
"I know, Sandy," she replied, sweetly giving him a kiss on the lips, "Do your thing," she advised, earning a nod in response from the Kazekage. He formed a platform of sand to step onto, descending down the shaft toward the bottom of the Vault.
"What… now?" Penny asked, quite curious as to where all this planning was going to lead.
"We go to Vacuo," Ruby answered as she stepped forward, "all of us…" she mentioned, staring at the portal they were bound to walk into, "and hope that we've thought of everything…" she added. Unbeknownst to her or anyone else, a cloaked Cinder was among the anxious refugees in the Atlas subway. She turned to face the portal with a dark grin.
Creating plans creates risks. You never know the odds of the outcomes. And some plans don't work as well as others. It's commendable what our heroes have put together, but will it be enough?
The answer may not be so pleasant for most of you… But rest assured, that answer will come soon. Until next time, this is Xiaomei, signing off.
END
Okay, a couple things to unpack here in regards to the plentiful changes first seen here. Let's start with my thoughts on the episode itself. I didn't like it. Not so much the action in the first half, because I thought it was really good, but rather the writing and developments.
James being defeated without getting a chance for Ozpin to try and speak with him one last time? A lack of security around the Vault? Penny again getting a Pinocchio metaphor, though this one was so unnecessarily on the nose?
Yeah, I didn't like any of that. I honestly thought it was poorly executed, especially with the stakes being set. And I like the series. Though personally, I don't think it's speaking to me anymore after Volume 8.
Anyways, most of the changes did revolve around our multiversal characters getting involved in some way, shape, or form. Ben getting one last stand against James, along with Penny and Jenny getting some moments was always in the plan. As for what'll happen in the next few chapters… well, we'll see.
I'm heading back to "The Challenge of a Lifetime" next week and the week after, so I hope you're all excited for that. Thanks for reading, and I'll see you next time!