Chapter 33: End of the Line

Weiss let out a cry as a red blade of energy nearly sawed her in half. She ducked just in time, the tree behind her falling from the strike. She returned the aura slash with one of her own, forming several glyphs in front of her, firing a volley of fireballs forward. Adam absorbed each one, racing toward the former heiress.

Blake pushed her out of the way, clashing with the man. She threw several strikes at him, all of which he easily blocked. She grabbed a hold of his hand as he brought his sword down, stopping his strike before he made it. Weiss took aim, launching an ice block at his back, making him scream in agony. He headbutted Blake, making her let go of him. He grabbed her by the throat, throwing her at Weiss, though thankfully Blake used her Semblance in time.

"You two had good teamwork. Did you learn that at Beacon?" he asked, almost sadistically as he aimed another hit at Weiss. She braced for the impact, only for Blake to push her out of the way. She and Adam locked in another vicious battle, their blades singing their fury as they aimed to kill each other.

She stepped back, charging another time dilation glyph, holding her finger to her earpiece. "Levi, he's here! We need back up, hurry!"

Weiss's eyes widened as Adam virtually flashed in front of her, holding his sword at an angle above his head. He struck her with all his strength, sending her flying through the woods. She howled in pain as she struck some trees, her sword flying out of her grasp.

"How pathetic, calling for back up in the middle of a fight. She really is a Schnee,"

Blake growled as she raced forward, throwing a diagonal slash at the man, who easily parried it. He pushed Blake back, causing her to leave a copy behind, which he easily cut apart. She flung her weapon upward, using the trees to gain some distance.

Adam briefly paused, thinking back on what Cinder had said. He stalked toward Weiss, only for something to wrap around his arm, pulling him forward. Blake slammed her forearm into his throat, whiplashing him into the ground. A glyph flashed under her feet as she hung upside down above the man. With a shout she jumped downward, thrusting her blade at Adam, only for him to block the hit. He kicked her exposed abdomen, sending her back through the trees.

She stabbed her blade into the ground to slow herself down, backflipping away to create some distance. She looked around, noticing the large waterfall beside her, along with the drop-off that led into the ocean.

The man stood tall as he approached his prey, holding his weapon tightly in his grasp. The two shared a brief look before sprinting at each other. Adam launched his sword forward, hoping to slow the raven-haired cat faunus down, but she was quicker, snagging the sword from mid-air. She launched herself forward with the help of a copy, swinging both blades at the man.

"Why don't you quit?!" Adam shouted as he was forced to duck and dodge her attacks. He angled Blush in time to parry an attack, his hand wrapping around the hilt of his own weapon. He discharged his shotgun, the recoil leaving Blake stunned long enough for him to slam his foot into her chest, sending her sprawling across the ground. "You are weak!"

He brought his sword down, only for Blake to block the attack, Gambol Shroud being sent flying out of her hand. He pulled his leg back, slamming it into her sternum. "You're a coward! You are worthless, no one wants you!"

She wheezed loudly, struggling to get some air in her lungs. She felt around, finding her weapon just behind her. She grabbed ahold of it, but when she looked up, she saw Adam standing over her, his sword aimed at the scar he had left on her over a year prior. "You are all alone, Blake. That is exactly what I felt when you left. I didn't have anyone else, no other friends. You were the only one that understood me… and then you didn't."

"You changed, Adam. I wanted to stick around, and help bring about the change that everyone spoke of. But you showed me that change was only going to happen over the deaths of countless innocents. Not everyone is evil, and not every human is bad. Some are just curious and others are compassionate with the faunus. I've met so many wonderful humans in my journey, and they changed my life. But you… I realize now that you will never change. You always be the same, violent, irrational man you were when we met. I ran away because I wanted to change the world, not because I'm a coward. The only coward here is you because only cowards resort to needless violence,"

"Haaaahh!" he shouted, holding his sword up high. He swung it down, just as Blake swung Gambol Shroud, parrying the attack, only for her blade to snap clean in half. It sounded almost like glass shattering as both halves of her trusty weapon flew behind her. She screamed as Adam stomped his boot into her chest, keeping her pinned down.

"There was a time where I trusted you with everything, but your betrayal outstrips everyone else's. You speak about your experiences, but they are nothing but a false dream," he said, holding his sword up once more. "Your fate was sealed in stone the moment you double-crossed me, and now it's time for you to pay your dues also-ran."

Blake's ears twitched a bit, a small smirk appearing on her face, making Adam look at her in confusion. He looked up, only for a gunshot to fill his ears. He felt something hard slam into him, sending him flying back. As he got up, he saw a familiar face through his ribbon. He held his sword up in an attempt to deflect the hit only for a blast of ice to strike him in the back. The young man let out a roar as he thrust his blade at his face. Adam reacted in time to deflect it, but the tip graced his face, slicing through the ribbon that kept his eyes hidden.

Levi took a few steps back, holding Overture tightly in his grasp as he looked at the man, who was clutching his face tightly. Weiss darted out of the woods, followed by Alto, who had Milo in rifle form, trained on the bull faunus. The miqo'te faunus licked his lips, his finger firmly around the trigger.

Adam slowly stood up, removing his hand from his seemingly injured face, making Levi's eyes grow wide. Weiss had a similar reaction, her hand slowly moving to cover her mouth while Alto looked down, almost ashamed at what she was seeing.

Adam's left eye had a ghastly brand over, his flesh had long since healed over. The deep grooves on his face featured the letters S, D, and C. His left eye looked intact, though his iris was white and the sclera was horribly burned, almost red in color. The brand covered most of his eye, the bridge of his nose, and parts of his temple, making him as the property of the S.D.C. Suddenly a lot of things started making sense to him. Why he hated humans, why he was targeting the S.D.C. why he had likely done what he did. But that didn't excuse him either. Levi's ears were flat against his head, his posture remaining the same.

"You're going to regret doing that,"

"I'm gonna regret doing a lot of things, but saving my friend isn't one of them," Levi said. Adam let out a furious scream as he shot forward, drawing his katana with the aid of his sheath, a shotgun blast filling the clearing.

Levi raised his sword to meet Adam's strike, taking the hit with ease. He ducked back and forth as the man continued swinging his sword, keeping his right hand behind his back. He flipped out of the way, planting his hand firmly on the ground, spinning his legs around, kicking the man in the face.

Alto took her shot, opening fire on the faunus, who shifted his gaze, targeting her. He raced toward her, aiming his shotgun at her, but she easily blocked the hits with Akouo. She spun around, shifting Milo into its sword form, meeting Adam's attacks blow for blow. She bashed him in the face with her shield, spinning Milo around her neck, simultaneously firing, the tip of her javelin being driven into his exposed shoulder. Adam brought his sword down, but she easily deflected it.

Weiss took her shot, sliding toward the man, sword outstretched, the tip glowing a bright orange. Adam growled as he parried her attacks, blocking as many as he could, only for him to sheath his sword.

"Weiss, he's about to unleash his stored power!" Blake shouted. Levi grabbed Gambol Shroud and threw it at the former heiress, wrapping it around her body. He pulled her out of the way just in time, the man unleashing the energy he had stored up, missing Alto by merely an inch as the ground in front of her opened up, a charred and black gash being left in its wake.

"We can't keep wasting time here, it won't be long until the military base catches onto what we're doing," Levi advised, setting his friend down. He handed Blake her weapon, the girl frowning at the half-broken blade. Alto raced to their side, holding her shield out, her javelin ready to go. Adam only laughed as he stared at them, clearly amused by what he was seeing.

"You four think you can bring me down? Me? I brought down an entire academy of huntsmen and huntresses in training. Do you honestly believe I won't do the same to you?"

Weiss and Levi shared a look, the two assuming the same stance. With a battle cry, they activated their semblance, a large dilation glyph appearing beneath their feet. Adam only sheathed his sword, a tiny smirk on his face.

Alto ran in first, throwing her shield at the man, using her semblance to speed it up, making it rocket toward Adam. He blocked it with ease, jumping into the air, kicking the weapon at Alto, who lost her footing. Her eyes widened as he shortened the distance, but thanks ther semblance, she was able to counter his hit. She swiped her weapon to and fro, only for Adam to block each hit. He caught her arm before she swung, allowing him to slam his elbow into her gut.

He spun her around, kicking her to the ground before sending her flying with a kick. He turned in time to dodge an attack from Weiss, who he easily countered. She however was more resilient than he gave her credit for. She formed various glyphs around them, blasting him with thick balls of rock which he easily sliced apart. He spun Wilt around, sheathing it and unleashing an arc of energy, which she blocked with an aura strike of her own.

Levi took aim with Overture, unloading the energy rounds he loaded within, only for Adam to block each one. He let out a howl of anger as he ran at the miqo'te, who used his semblance to avoid the attack. "What the hell is wrong with him? It's as if he's in another mental state. There's no way he can attack, counter attack, parry, and absorb every attack we throw at him!"

He thrust his estoc forward, the edge of it barely deflecting Adam's attack, sparks raining down from their clash. Adam swept Levi off his feet, slamming him hard into the ground. He spun his sword around about to finish him off, when suddenly he turned around, deflecting Blake's gunshots. It was almost as if he saw red because Levi was immediately ignored in favor of the raven-haired cat faunus.

"There's no way… we can beat him," Levi wheezed, as he forced himself to his knees. He glanced at his scroll, seeing Alto's aura was in the red. Weiss was slightly above yellow, and Blake's kept fluctuating between green and yellow, before finally settling on yellow. He looked up, seeing his friend was doing her best to fight the bull faunus off with her broken sword.

He reached into his ammo pouch, pulling out six gravity shells. He ejected the spent casing and shoved a shell into the chamber, before filling the tube to the brim. He forced himself to stand up, his eyes flashing slightly as he tapped into his aura, activating his semblance.

Several fire glyphs swirled around Adam, each of them glowing a bright orange, the heat they gave off could be felt a hundred yards away. Blake jumped out of the way as he unleashed the attack, hundreds of fireballs pinned Adam down, the man doing nothing but parrying the attack. Levi pulled his weapon back, forming a pink glyph at the end of it.

Blake realized what he was going to do, her eyes going wide. She reached her hand out, hoping to get him to stop. "Levi, no!"

He pulled the trigger back, launching himself forward. With another bullet, he sent himself in a wild spiral, Overture's estoc glowing a brilliant violet as he channeled every ounce of gravity dust he had left in his weapon. Adam only smirked as he drew his blade. Everything was almost slow motion as he sent his attack forward. At the same time, Levi brought his sword down, hoping to end it all.

The miqo'te felt himself rolling across the ground, pain exploding from his forearm. He panted a bit, seeing his discarded weapon stabbed into the ground not that far from where he had landed. He was mere feet away from falling into the cold lake below, where he would likely be swallowed by the falls. He looked at Adam, who flicked his blade downward, a crimson spray splattering the ground.

"You poor foolish idiot. I thought Blake had told you what my Semblance was. I can't believe this, that's two of your friends who have already tried this tactic, and both of them ended the same way!" Adam said, bursting into laughter.

Levi extended his arm, trying to force himself to stand up, finally seeing what Adam was referring too. His arm was gone, the man had sliced it clean off, the katana having cauterized the wound simultaneously. A horrible charred mound of flesh covered what was left, two sharp-looking bones looking almost like fangs as they poked out of his skin. His eyes went wide, feeling himself want to scream, but the air in his lungs was caught in his throat.

"You're disgusting!" Weiss shouted, tears falling from her eyes as she looked at the state of her close friend. She didn't even see his severed limb anywhere, only seeing a slight trail of blood near the edge of the cliff. She forced herself to stand up, holding her rapier tightly in her grasp. "I'm going to kill you, I swear to the Gods."

"Weiss don't!" Blake cried, holding her hand out. "That's exactly what he wants!"

"Oh please, Weiss. Do yourself a favor and actually attack me, that's all your family ever does. They imprison my kind, force them to work in those goddamned dust mines, and then they kill our children. They sterilize our women and castrate our men. That's exactly what I will do to your family! I'm going to castrate your brother right after I tear your ovaries out of your body. I'll do the same to your mother and your sister, and when I hang your organs from the top spire of S.D.C World HQ, I'll put your father's head on a pike just outside your mansion. That way you and all of Atlas can suffer what WE WENT THROUGH!"

Just as he was about to run at Weiss, the sound of a motorcycle filled the clearing. He turned only in time to see a yellow blur crash into him, sending him sprawling across the clearing. It took Levi a moment to register what had hit him, only to see the vehicle tumbling over the cliff and into the ocean. Yang landed on the ground in front of her fallen friends, her hair billowing in the wind as she raised her head, slowly standing to meet the man who had severed her arm.

"Tch," he spat, slowly standing up. He scooped his sword from the ground, holding it tightly in his grasp. "Look who decided to show up."

"The rest of our friends will be here soon, and not just them, but the Atlas Military. I'm giving you one chance to leave. To leave the rest of us alone. Take it, or else you'll end up just like the people you've killed," she said firmly. Adam merely drew his sword, his glare firm and unwavering. Yang cocked her gauntlet, activating the shotgun barrel on her mechanical arm. "Alright, hard way is,"

The man darted forward, swinging his katana with all his strength, Yang easily dodged it, driving her feet into his chest. He followed up with a haymaker which he easily blocked absorbing the energy of her combustion dust. She followed up with several more hits which he easily deflected. He smacked his shoulder against her face, throwing his katana at her, the blade looking like a spinning wheel as he fired his shotgun at her.

He caught his sword, sheathing and drawing it in rapid succession, each strike stronger than the last. He angled his blade in time to deflect her wild punch, sending her sliding back. He was about to attack when a vermillion glyph flashed beneath his feet, exploding and sending him into the air.

"Weiss, go!" Levi shouted. The former heiress nodded, sliding her fingers over her rapier, spinning around her heel. She drove the tip of her blade into the ground, summoning her Arma Gigas.

The white knight raced forward, hefting his giant buster blade forward, only for Adam to flip around it. He raced across the blade, slicing the summon apart, destroying it with ease. He laughed as he jumped at Weiss, holding his katana behind his back. He screamed as he swung it, only for the blade to clash with Alto's shield, the shockwave sending both of them flying back. Alto held her ground as she threw her javelin forward, only for Adam to deflect it.

"You stupid silly girl. Why are you siding with the human who enslaved us?!" he shouted, as Alto used her semblance to slow him down. She reached behind her back for Levi's pistol, which he had handed to her for emergencies, and fired the entire magazine into his chest. He somehow managed to break out of her grasp on him, deflecting each hit with his katana. Her eyes went wide, her arm moving on its own as she held Akouo up.

The sickening sound of crunching metal filled her ears as the man sliced the top of her shield clean off. He wasted no time in grabbing her by the neck, slamming her into the nearby rock. He swept her off her feet, kicking her in the face. Her body went limp seconds later, her aura having finally broken from the attack. Adam spun his sword around, grinning as he held it over the girl's heart.

"Poor useless dog,"

"Leave her alone!"

He swung his sword, deflecting the gravity bullet Weiss had shot at him. She cocked Overture again and fired, again and again only to meet the same fate. She flicked the estoc out, crossing it with Myertenaster as she waited for the bull faunus to shorten the distance.

"Blake, are you okay?" Yang asked, earning a nod from her partner.

"Adam he's… he's changed. His semblance wasn't like this, it's almost like it's driving him feral. His hair is glowing red, every time he swings his sword he gets stronger. He can kill any one of us in a single hit, we can't afford to leave ourselves open!" she said firmly.

"Then what do you suggest we do?" Levi asked, holding Milo in his grasp. His stump was bleeding a bit, but he would be fine for now, at least for as long as his aura held on. Blake almost burst into tears but held herself firm as she looked back at Weiss, who was doing an admirable job fighting back against Adam.

"Catch him off guard, hit hard, hit fast, and do not put yourself in a situation where parrying or clashing is your only alternative. He'll just absorb the energy of that clash or parry and add it to his reserves."

"Got it," Levi said, running forward, his grip tight on Milo's handle. Adam slammed his foot into Weiss's chest, sending her flying across the ground, giving him the opening he needed to attack.

"How are you still alive? I cut your arm off?!" he shouted, as Levi swiped his borrowed weapon at the bull faunus.

"Sorry, Taurus, but I'm too stubborn to die," he said with a grin. "Didn't you know? I got that stubbornness from my mother! Who died because of you!"

He screamed in anger as he drove his blade into Adam's chest. He formed a glyph beneath his feet, launching himself forward. He spun Milo around his hand, shifting it into his spear form, hoping to drive it through Adam's chest. "Not only that, but you got Aria killed! You got Cadence killed, all because you listened to that bitch, Cinder Fall! She ruined your life, not Blake!"

Adam deflected his attack, Milo being sent out of his grasp. He spun around, slashing Levi across the chest, sending him flying into Weiss who had just gotten back to her feet. He shortened the distance, grinning.

"I've had my life ruined by countless people, but Cinder Fall wasn't one of them. She opened my eyes to what I need to do. Who I needed to target. Killing Blake is a formality, destroying the Schnees is my life's mission!"

He brought Wilt down, only for Levi to parry it with Myrtenaster, both being sent flying back. He stalked forward, a smile on his face as he walked toward Weiss. Blake raised her gun and fired at him, each shot being deflected.

"You aren't going to stop me, Blake. And neither are you, Yang!"

The blonde brawler screamed at the sound of her name, launching herself forward with her gauntlets. She met each of his strikes with ones of her own, slowly chipping away at his aura. He blocked each strike with ease, unleashing a powerful slash that sent Yang flying back. He darted forward, his glowing red and black copies racing around her.

"Yang watch out!"

The blonde crossed her mechanical arm over her body, using it to take the brunt of Adam's attack, the metal singed but holding steady. Adam stepped back, chuckling a bit as she lowered her arm. "My, that's a neat replacement. It's gonna take more than one hit to slice that sucker off."

Yang panted a bit, her hands shaking as she stood in front of him. He continued taunting her, holding his sword tightly in his grasp. "Are you going to swing at me again? Yang? You know what happened last time. Look at what happened to your friend over there, he lost his just like you lost yours. That would make you kindred spirits, wouldn't you say?"

"Shut up!"

"Did I hit a nerve? I wanna know something, Yang. I wanna know if you are faster than you were back at Beacon," Adam said, making her gasp, her pupils shrinking a bit as she lowered her arms. "Heh… didn't think so."

Just as he was about to attack, a familiar discharge filled their ears. Adam looked to his right, only for a blur of red to fill his vision, shortly before he was sent flying back. The red-cloaked figure landed in front of her sister, holding her scythe tightly in her grasp.

"Ruby?"

"Sup." the young girl said, smiling. She looked around, seeing Levi, Weiss, and Alto were down for the count, with Levi groaning in pain and Weiss being dazed and confused. She locked eyes with the bull faunus, holding Crescent Rose tightly in her grasp. "This the bastard who took your arm?"

"Y-yes."

"I'm going to break him,"

Ruby fired her massive weapon behind herself, turning into a whirlwind of steel and rose petals, slicing apart the boulder Adam had been standing beside. The man locked into a vicious combat, as the small girl swung her scythe to and fro, the massive weapon being enough to keep her away from the reach of his sword. He swung at her repeatedly but only succeeded in striking the blunt end of her weapon. Ruby backflipped out of the way, slamming the tip of her scythe into the ground.

She opened fire on Adam, who smirked as he deflected each hit. He spun his weapon around, flinging the powerful blade of aura at the girl. She darted to the right with her semblance, ignoring her weapon entirely, much to his surprise. She stopped in front of him, driving her fist into his face. She spun around, kicking him in the face with her heel.

Ruby uppercut his chin, throwing several speedy punches at his exposed chest, following it with a powerful sidekick. She somersaulted out of his range, landing on Crescent Rose, spinning the weapon around so it rested on her shoulder.

"You know something… Blake? You've made… a lot of good friends. It's so good that they came to help you. That way, I can kill them all one by one, and watch you suffer as the light leaves their eyes." Adam said, hand wrapped around the hilt of his katana. Ruby narrowed her eyes, waiting for him to make a move.

Rather than run toward her, he darted toward Yang, who was taken by complete surprise. She did her best to block his attacks, but was overwhelmed by his speed, and was sent back into a nearby boulder. Ruby shot herself toward him with the help of her scythe, swinging the massive weapon at him, only for him to block it entirely. He grabbed the weapon with ease, retching it from her grasp and throwing it out of her reach. Adam fired Wilt at Ruby, stunning her enough for him to sock her in the face.

Blake forced herself to stand up, using Gambol Shroud's sheath to fight, slashing and parrying his attacks, but she was easily disarmed, the sharpened sheath being pulled from her grasp. Adam drove his first into her stomach, her aura flashing briefly as she fell to her knees. He grabbed a handful of her hair, pulling it hard as he stared into her eyes.

"You are going to watch this," he hissed, throwing her back as he clipped his sword to his waist. He walked over to Weiss, who had been watching helplessly for a few moments. She fumbled around for a moment, grabbing Overture, aiming it at the man, pulling the trigger, only for it to click empty. She was quickly disarmed, the man slamming his foot into her chest, pinning her to the ground.

"Leave her alone, you bastard!" Levi hissed, as he tried to stand up, only to fall over. His wound had started affecting him, only a bit of his aura left behind. The man only laughed, as he reached behind his back for something.

"You know, when I first saw you and saw your mother, I was completely taken aback. It boggles my mind how two faunus like you could side with humans. Why? When the Miqo'te race was destroyed by a human? You are stronger than any faunus that currently exists! Your kind used to be wizards back during the height of Eorzea! Yet you squander that power!"

"My ancestors were different people, not like me and not like my mother. We fight for what's right, and if we have to get our hands dirty, so be it. None of us are clean in this world. But you know what, that doesn't matter, as long as Salem falls. Can't you see this is what she wants? She wants to pit us against each other, to throw us into conflict! We're not that different from humans, all we have to do is-"

"Shut up!" he shouted, grinding his foot into Weiss's chest, making her wheeze painfully. He held the object he had pulled out tightly in his hand, grinding a bit of fire dust into it, using his aura to ignite it. He reached down, tearing apart Weiss's dress, exposing most of her upper body, her modesty still preserved by the lacy bra she wore. "I am going to do to you the same thing your father did to me."

The white-haired girl screamed in agony as he drove the flaming object into her chest, right over her heart. He pushed it down, almost laughing as it burned her skin. Tears of pure agony fell from Weiss's eyes, making Levi quake in anger. He pulled the brand away, grabbing the girl by her ponytail, holding her up as he pulled his fist back.

"Are you hungry, dog? Here, have a knuckle sandwich!" he cried, punching Weiss in the face. "Did you like it? How about another one!"

Tears formed around Levi's eyes as he heard her cries, his fingers digging into the ground. Yang was too scared to do anything, having fallen into another episode of PTSD, and Ruby had fallen unconscious from the strikes he had delivered. Blake was kneeling down, watching helplessly as her former mentor beat Weiss to a pulp.

"How about we start with the fun stuff eh? I heard you were a cow faunus, does that mean you make delicious breast milk? How about we stimulate those nipples with a car battery and see what happens?"

The sound of cloth tearing was what drove Levi over the edge. He let out a scream of pure anger, a brilliant shimmering glyph flashing beneath him. This was unlike any he had ever used before. It shimmered a glimmering cyan in color, and was diamond-shaped, with various letters and runes he had never seen before. The outer edges spun counter-clockwise, while the inside spun clockwise. There was an odd Infinity symbol in the center, which sparked with unknown energy.

He felt himself flying, almost as if he had been traveling at the speed of sound. But it only lasted a second, as he flashed right in front of Adam, his foot connecting with his face, sending him flying away from Weiss. He scooped her discarded rapier from the floor, channeling his aura into it, sending a slash at his shoulder, followed by a thrust. Adam parried both attacks, throwing three connecting slashes at him, the first two were absorbed but the last one shattered what was left of his aura. Adam threw a final diagonal slash, slicing into his chest, sending him sprawling to the ground.

Levi let out another scream as Adam buried his katana into his leg, smirking as he severed it off. "That should teach you not to mess with me. Oh, and one last thing."

He kicked the man hard in the ribs, sending him flying across the clearing. He groaned in pain, feeling rather weak. He opened his eyes as Adam stood over him, grabbing a hold of his tail, yanking it up until it was straight. With a single fluid motion, it was gone, once again sending the young man into a volley of screams.

"You sick fuck!" Yang cried, wiping away her tears. "I'm going to make sure you never hurt anyone ever again!"

"Try me, Yang, you'll end up just like your friend here!"

He ran forward, throwing his katana at Yang, who easily deflected it. Her eyes glowed red as she threw that energy back. The man caught the blade, throwing several more slashes at her. Yang punched his blade, leaving him open for attack. She punched him in the chest, the man dug his heels into the dirt, growling as he sheathed his sword.

"What the hell does she see in you? In all of you!?" he shouted, pulling his sword from the sheath. He screamed as he leaped into the air, bringing his sword down on her. A smoke cloud washed over them, the man smirking as he thought he won. When the smoke cleared, it was revealed that Yang had in fact caught the sword with her mechanical arm. "What?"

"This is for what you did to Weiss!" she shouted, punching him in the face, sending him flying into the ground. Her aura sparked a bit, as she squeezed his sword, shattering it to pieces. She stalked toward the man, cocking her gauntlets. "This is for hurting my sister!"

"Yang stop!"

Ruby's voice didn't stop her, as she repeatedly punched the man in the face. She grabbed him by the neck, squeezing his trachea, his gasps for air making her squeeze harder. "This is for what you did to Levi!"

The man felt himself flying back, the boulder behind him shattering along with his aura. Yang's body felt a bit heavy, as the last of hers left her. She rolled her shoulders, her nails digging into her palm. She started walking forward, grabbing Gambol Shroud from the ground, pulling the magazine out for a moment. She loaded it back and held it up at the man, her finger resting on the trigger.

"You should have left when I told you too."

"Yang!"

She paused, meeting her sister's gaze. "We have to go! Levi is losing blood and Alto is unconscious. We can't keep toying with him!"

"We can't leave him alive either, Ruby," Weiss said, as she tied the remains of her shirt around her chest, covering her exposed breasts. "Look at what he did to me, to Levi. Do you think he deserves to live?"

"I don't want to kill him either," Blake said, glaring at the fallen man. "But if we don't, he's going to come back. Leaving him alive is a mistake I can't afford to make."

Adam let out a choked laugh, as he looked up at his pupil, a grin on his face. "You deserve to kill me, Blake. After all, you took everything from me. You may as well finish me off."

His hand moved slightly, grabbing a hold of Blush, his finger wrapped around the trigger. Blake's ears flattened, her hands were bleeding from the piece of her sword she was holding, out almost like a gun. "Shut up, Adam!"

"Come on, Blake, do it! You know you want to! I'll give you a reason to kill me!" he shouted, climbing to his feet. He spun his sheath around, aiming it right at Weiss's face, his finger on the trigger. Ruby screamed as she grabbed his arm, forcing it down, the weapon discharging. Blake let out a furious scream as she drove her blade through his chest, right into his heart.

He let out a grasp, a chortle escaping his throat as he looked down at Blake's joined hands, smeared with his blood. She pulled the blade out, staring into his eyes, her own wide and filled with fear.

"I hate you."

"Good… hate me all you want… Blake," he said softly, as he felt his consciousness drifting. "I always thought you were a good student… but now I realize training you was… my worst mistake. This won't last. You always run away, you are destined to die alone."

"No… I'm not. The only one who's dying alone today is you," Blake said, walking away from the man. The others watched as he took his final breaths, becoming still shortly after.

"We have to call the others, we need to get Levi and Alto to the hospital!" Ruby said, dashing toward Alto's side, giving her a shake. She groaned in pain, her eyes fluttering open.

"R-Ruby? What's… happening?"

"Adam hit you hard, but you're okay. We have to get you some medical attention, okay?" she said softly. The wolf faunus sat up, looking around for a moment, her eyes focusing on Levi's body.

"Levi? What happened to Levi? Why is he just laying there?" she cried, forcing herself to stand up.

"Easy there, Wolfie. You're still a bit out of it, you might even be concussed, we can't have you running around." Yang said firmly. Weiss and Blake were already by Levi's side, checking him over.

"Shit, he's bleeding. Adam's sword cauterized the wound but it's still mangled! We need to get him to a hospital right now!" Blake said, only for Levi to grab her wrist, squeezing it tightly. He forced his eyes open, looking directly into her eyes. "Levi?"

"We need to get to Atlas," he hissed, forcing himself to sit. He looked around for a moment, spotting his severed limbs a few feet away. He almost gagged at the sight. "We've done all of this just so we can get out of Mistral, we are not wasting it."

"But-"

"No buts, Weiss. We keep to the plan and head to Atlas. Once we make it, you can throw me in whatever podunk rich hoity-toity ass hospital you wanna throw me in." he said, forcing himself to his knee, howling in pain. He reached for Overture, forcing himself to stand on his remaining leg. "Yang, help me."

"Levi, I don't think we should go."

"Yeah, and I don't give a shit. We are out of options, so help my fucking ass get to the edge of that cliff, and call the others so we can go!" he hissed, stumbling a bit. Weiss was at his side, wrapping his arm around her shoulders.

"You are a fool, an idiot, a dumbshit, a fucking asshat, dolt, dunce, dingus fuckhead. God if you weren't bleeding out I would fucking slap you silly!"

"Hey, I sacrificed my leg to stop that fucker from beating you up. You are too pretty to be manhandled like that. Also, Ruby, if you ever say the phrase "I'm going to break him" ever again, I will formally put a request with Yang to allow me to slap you."

The girl chuckled, brushing her hair out of her eyes. "Are you okay, Levi? Like, seriously?"

"Eh, I'll be fine. Suddenly, I'm happy we're going to Atlas," he said, feeling a bit faint. "Just… make sure I don't die okay?"

"Will do, let's get you out of here," Yang said, resting most of the man's weight on her shoulder.

It was only moments later that the Manta their friends had appropriated finally arrived. Jaune, Ren, and Nora stepped out, weapons drawn only to see the mayhem that had occurred. Their eyes fell on Levi, the most wounded out of all of them. Alto was holding onto Blake, a look of shame on her face as she saw Oscar running toward her.

"What the hell happened?!" he screamed. She held her shield up, seeing the top half was gone.

"Adam he… he did this to us."

"We need to get Levi some medical attention, he isn't going to make it if he-"

"I appreciate the gesture, Ren, but we need to go. We'll handle it when we get to Atlas." the miqo'te faunus said, hobbling toward the airship.

"But-"

"No buts, Jaune. He's made his decision," Weiss said, earning a horrified look from the blonde.

"What… did he do to you guys?" Nora asked softly. Levi only smiled.

"He made us stronger."

Neo almost tackled him when he stepped onto the ship, her eyes wide as she looked him over. She mimed several things but his tired mind only registered a few. She knelt beside him, cupping his face as he struggled to stay conscious. She looked around for a moment, finding a bottle of water and a first aid kit, handing it to Qrow, gesturing for the man to do something with it.

"Look, Shortstack, this first aid kit isn't going to do shit for wounds like this. He needs medical treatment," he said, earning a death glare from the silent girl. "Alright, I'll wrap his wounds and make sure he doesn't die. The pain meds inside this kit will reduce the fever. But we need to step on it,"

Neo nodded, giving the man a hug.

"What about Cinder?" Yang asked curiously. The ice-cream-themed woman shook in anger, holding her middle fingers up, waving them at the sky. Accepting her answer, the blonde brawler closed the door, making sure everyone was safely inside.

"Is everyone inside?" Maria asked, earning a thumbs up from Neo, who retook the co-pilot's seat. She pressed a few buttons and turned some knobs, before taking off. She slowly turned the ship, engaging the thrusters, speeding away from the edge of the city.

It wasn't much longer that the continent of Anima, and the Kingdom of Mistral, was gone from their sight.


Location: Northern Ocean

Levi didn't really know how long it had been, a few hours at most. All he knew was that his seat was uncomfortable and his arm and leg were burning. Qrow had done his best to sanitize the wound, doing as far as using some fire dust from Weiss and a knife to cauterize the open vessels. His aura had thankfully returned, thanks to Jaune and his Aura Amp semblance. He had been able to help Weiss heal her injuries, her busted lip and black eye were gone, leaving her with nothing but a few mental scars, which she said she'd get over. All the attention was mostly on him and his injuries.

All he could do was stare at his missing limbs, frowning at the mangled sight of his body. He felt weak, but he was thankfully hanging on. His head was throbbing, likely an aftereffect of his fight with Adam. How he was even alive was a miracle of the Gods. He had a guardian angel watching over him, he mused, as he moved slightly in his seat.

"Are you okay, Levi? Do you need more painkillers?" Ruby asked softly. He looked up at her, a small playful smirk on his face.

"Can you believe that I got my hand and leg chopped off and the thing that hurts the most is my ass?"

A chorus of laughter filled the dreary ship, filling the area with a bit of joy and mirth. Weiss handed him a bottle of water, which he gingerly drank out of, feeling a lot better than he had before.

"Well, it's a good thing you still have your sense of humor. You know I'm still really mad at you,"

"Yes, I know. You ran out of insults to throw at me, but hey, giving up my leg to stop Adam from beating you up? Totally worth it," he said, smiling. She huffed, looking away from the man, though her cheeks were glowing red in embarrassment.

"What do you think will happen now?" Yang asked, glancing up from her hands. She was checking her mechanical arm over, noticing the deep scratches and mangled metal left behind by Adam's attack. "Do you think the General will believe us?"

"He's going to, trust him, Firecracker. We got Ozpin with us," Qrow said, making Oscar frown.

"He's still locked away, Qrow. I thought I felt him reawaken when we arrived on that battlefield but, I think it was just my imagination,"

"He's going to come back, he has to," Alto said, trying to be cheerful. She traced the edges of her shield with her finger, focusing mostly on the now missing top of it. "He asked you not to look into his past because he knew it would hurt you. You didn't do it intentionally, you just wanted the truth. He probably thinks you all hate him,"

"The initial need to punch him in the face sort of left after I saw everything he did for my mother," Levi said, glancing up at the ceiling. "Ozpin is… a broken man. He's lived for such a long time, disheartened by the fact that his lover turned into the very thing he wanted to save her from. He had to watch the monster she had become, fought her with all his strength and even that wasn't enough to stop her. From herself or from even killing their family,"

He took a deep breath, gritting his teeth a bit in pain. His chest still hurt from the battle with Adam, he was sure his sides would be bruised even with his aura healing him. "I know he trusts us, he wouldn't have told us what he did if he hadn't. It took using Jinn against him, but it's in the open. We know the truth, and once he thinks the time is right, he'll be back. Besides, the bastard has to tell me where my mom is,"

"You sure she's alive?"

"Qrow, have you ever felt like someone is watching you?" the teenager asked, earning an odd look from the man. "Like someone you know is there but they're too scared to approach you? That's the feeling I felt all over Mistral. In fact, before I arrived at the kingdom capital, I had a run-in with a very beautiful cat. One that Neo never saw, despite her being in that train caboose with me."

The silent woman glanced over her shoulder, a questioning look on her face. He could read her expression easily. "The cat exists, Neo. I'm convinced that was my mom checking on me. That Grimm attack killed her, but it only took one of her lives. She has to be alive, or else Professor Peach would be the Summer Maiden, wouldn't she?"

"What if the Summer Maiden is someone else? What if that cat was just a regular old cat?" Blake asked curiously.

"She does bring up a good point, Levi," Ren added firmly.

"I know, but I have to believe that it's her, right? It's kind of all I have left. I have a lot of unanswered questions, sadly the price of a memory is too much to pay when speaking with Jinn. And using the last question is well out of the question. For now, we just need to focus on the important part, getting my sore ass to a hospital."

"I wouldn't be in too much of a hurry if I were you. You got your leg chopped off, meaning you are a fall hazard. That means you're going to get a catheter shoved up you-"

"Nora, kindly shut up," Weiss said, making the ginger-haired girl zip her lip. Jaune rolled his eyes, placing his hand over his groin, giving Levi a silent nod. Ren and Qrow did the same, both feeling bad for the young man.

"Well everyone, we have about another hour of flying left. We should have enough fuel to make it, but don't count your chickens. You never know what might happen," Maria said.

"Shit, we're gonna have to come up with something to deal with Cinder. Neo sort of took off without her," Ruby said. Neo kept her hand wrapped around the stick, using her free hand to fiddle with her scroll.

"Don't worry, Ruby. I sent her a text message before leaving Mistral. Adam managed to procure a ship, and I left her a personal little gift, an incentive if you will. Ideally, I would have loved to lead her to Atlas, and attempt to drive Hush through her chest, but my friends take priority," the scroll said, the woman winking at the group.

"Well alright then, that settles that."

"Before I forget, I wanted to say… nice job out there. You all did a good job, especially you Ruby, and you, Jaune. You took the reins, created a decent plan, and executed it without any problems. But the next time you run off without explanation other than "I'm gonna slice that bastard in half", I'm going to ground you for a week and take your scythe away."

"Nooo, not my baby," she said, hugging Crescent Rose tightly.

"You've been warned," the man said, about to take a drink from his flask, only to look at Ruby, and lower it. "I love you, kiddo."

"I love you too, Uncle Qrow."

"Hey, how about a little love for me eh? I sacrificed my child in order to get one up on Adam!" Yang said, sounding both happy and disappointed at the loss of Bumblebee.

"Bah, that motorcycle was so last year, I'll get you a brand new one from Atlas. State of the art, not only that, but it'll be a hover-cycle."

The blonde brawler gasped, a giddy expression on her face. "They have those?"

"You betcha, and they have a lot of other things too."

"Hey, as long as you are grabbing things for the Christmas list, can you maybe put in a good word with Good Old General Jim and have him replace my leg and arm? Oh, and I want a new tail, one that functions like a music player. With a USB attachment." Levi said. Qrow's brows furrowed a bit, as he scratched the back of his head.

"Well uh… I don't know if they have that, but I'll make sure to ask him for ya."

"Honestly, I am just glad to be done with Mistral. I loved my time there, I did, it's a beautiful nation with so much culture and history. But after crash landing in a lake, being kidnapped by bandits, almost sold back to my father, burning a forest down, being almost murdered in a bathroom in the middle of the woods, having to deal with the White Fang, fighting at Haven, boarding a train, learning the truth about the world, getting my soul almost sucked out of my body and being sexually harassed by a faunus maniac in the middle of the woods… I'm just glad to be heading back to Atlas."

They all cringed at the long list of things Weiss had gone through. It was likely just as long if not longer than the laundry list of things the others had gone through. Levi moved his hand toward hers, giving her a smile as he slipped his fingers through hers, leaning forward a bit. "Don't worry, Weiss. I'll never let anyone do what Adam did to you. I promise you that,"

She felt herself smiling at his genuine words, a brand new feeling in her stomach. It was one she had felt before, a sensation of butterflies, but this time, it wasn't teenager hormones acting up, making her fall for a guy who didn't value her. This time, it was admiration, adoration, and infatuation, for a kindhearted young man who had saved her life more than once in recent months. She leaned against him, not caring that the others were staring.

"After all the shit we've been through, I honestly just wanna relax somewhere, maybe eat a tub or two of ice cream," Yang said, causing Neo to hold her hand up, her thumb raised as high as she could. "Nice! Me and Neo are gonna scope out all the ice cream parlors in Mantle then."

"If none of you have seen Atlas in person before, you aren't gonna wanna miss it. I'm sure Maria will let us know when we're making the approach. The city itself is breathtaking, unlike anything you've ever seen before,"

"Qrow's right," Maria spoke, glancing back at the kids. "You know, you make the trip up to Atlas so many times, but you never truly get used to the view. It's a modern marvel, human ingenuity mixed with a healthy bit of technology. It's quite literally the pinnacle of human innovation."

"Meh… it isn't everything it's cracked up to be. The city might be beautiful, but it's also a hollow pit of depression, arrogance, and discrimination. Me and Roman didn't quite like it." Neo's scroll said.

"I'm sure we'll be fine, Neo," Jaune added, holding his hand over his stomach as the ship rattled a bit. He felt Nora and Ren place their hands on his shoulders, making him sigh softly in relief. "I just want to hurry and get there, I hate flying,"

"It won't be much longer, Jaune. Hey, at least you remembered to pack your motion sickness pills. That's a sign of improvement!" Ruby said cheerfully.

"Oh… so that's where the nickname "Vomit Boy" comes from. Here I thought you just had a knack of vomiting because you were nervous or something," Levi said.

"Nah, that isn't it. First day we met, Jaune ended up hacking his breakfast all over some cute girl's shoes. Then into a trash bin." Yang said.

"Yep, then I saw Ruby almost fly off a cliff when she bumped into Weiss, who started shaking a partially opened canister of fire dust without realizing it. That's how I started calling her Crater Face. It uh… didn't stick," the blonde boy said.

"I was such a bitch back then," Weiss said with an eye roll. "I just didn't know the wonderful people I was destined to meet."

"At least you learned to change. You became more down to earth, Ruby learned how to take things seriously and grew into a mature and capable leader, Yang stopped treating everything like a party, and Blake finally stopped smelling her books," Nora said happily.

"I miss the fresh scent of newly printed books," the cat faunus said, making the group laugh.

"Those days may be long behind us, but they are among the best ones we've ever had. We should cherish and nurture them, and make sure they are never forgotten," Ren said, as wisely as ever.

"Um… before anything else, I just wanted to say I'm sorry," Alto said, finally breaking her silence. She held her shield up, her arm shaking a bit. "I promised to take care of Pyrrha's things, but I ended up getting Akouo damaged. I feel like I failed you, and I failed her,"

"Bah, don't worry about it!" Nora said, brushing it off. "You have no idea how many dents Pyrrha hammered out of her shield. It was the reason she had an exact replica of her weapons made. Besides, Adam was a force of nature. I'm glad he sliced your shield and not you. I'd rather have you not the shield,"

"Indeed, Pyrrha would be immensely proud of you. Continue your training, one day you will achieve the same strength and grace on the battlefield as she did. I'm certain she and Aria are proud of you."

"Ren's right, you've come really far in a short amount of time, despite taking some time off from being a huntress. The only thing we can do is make sure you keep training and learning how to defend yourself. Who knows? Maybe one day you'll be able to fight just like Pyrrha." Jaune said happily, holding back the urge to cry. "She was amazing, it always looked as if she was dancing on the battlefield. She deserved to graduate but didn't. Even if it's just her weapons, I'm glad she's here with us."

Alto took a shaky breath, giving her friends a bright toothy grin. "Thank you guys, I'm so happy I met you all."

"I bet you're really happy you met Oscar, eh? I saw that bucket list and read the first one on that list. It's already checked off too. You naughty kids," Yang said, winking at the pair, making them both blush.

"Uh what? L-list? What list? I don't remember making a list of buckets," Oscar said, fanning his face with his hand.

"Yep, there is no list. It never existed, ever." the wolf faunus said, glaring daggers at Yang who merely laughed at the pair.

The group continued chatting among themselves, talking mostly about past stories, fights with Grimm, or things they did at school. Levi didn't share much of his school experiences, but he did mention a few things here and there, which made the others laugh. At least until Ruby broached a topic no one had ever seemed to ask him.

"So, who was it that wrote all of Team ACPL's songs? Was it you, Levi? Or was it Aria?"

"All of us, actually," he said, reaching into his pocket for a pair of notebooks. One was, of course, Aria's notebook, while the other was his. "Aria left me her songbook when she passed on. Cadence did most of her own, but Sonata always helped her. She was an opera singer, after all, so she had a bit of trouble writing them. All of us teamed up with Sonata. She couldn't write lyrics worth shit, but she could write musical sheets."

Weiss took Levi's book from his hand, flipping it open, seeing a few songs. Some were ones she recognized, while others were lyrics to songs she hadn't even heard. She paused when she found the lyrics to the song he had sung at the farmhouse. "Oh, so the one you sang at the farm is called Bishop's Knife Trick?"

"Why is that?"

"Because… this song is a special one for me. The lyrics have a lot of hidden meanings, but when they were written, I was at a rather low point in my life. I had no real friends, my mom was gone and I felt alone. I found comfort in mathematics of all things," he said, taking the book from Weiss. "The first line, I'm pedal to the metal' alludes to me wanting to do something fast, and wanting to do it now."

"The second one is sort of self-explanatory. I was always alone, so I was always having a self-pity party." he continued, his eyes drifting down to the chorus of the song. "I think the chorus explains my feelings during those moments."

"These are the last blues we're ever gonna have, let's see how deep we get. The glow of the cities below leads us back to the places we never should have left," Weiss read out loud, looking back at the teenager. "Forgive me, but I think I don't get the meaning."

"It's simple when you think about it. When someone is sad, they usually say they're feeling blue. But it has a double meaning. The blues I am talking about are some blue pills that I found in my mom's medicine cabinet. I'm not sure what they did really, but I think they were to control some sort of problems she had, likely with her eyes." he said, his eyes tracing the next line. "Let's see how deep we get… that line is all about how many pills I was planning on taking that day."

Suddenly, they realized what he meant. Yang sat up a bit, while Blake gave him a look of concern. He closed his eyes for a moment, despite feeling sad, he found himself smiling brightly. "I never told my mother how I felt when she was gone. I tried to always behave like I was happy, but I wasn't. I missed her dearly, and while Sienna took care of me for a while, and I had my pet cat to comfort me, I always felt alone. I wondered why she was so distant if she even loved me. No one ever wanted to be my friend, and even when I tried, all I got was made fun of because of my ears and tail, or my weird eyes, or how I was able to multiply big numbers in my head. No one ever stopped to ask if I felt fine."

He bit his lip, not wanting to look directly at anyone as he kept speaking. "I thought about doing it, you know? Just taking those pills, seeing what would happen. But then I looked up at Beacon, and I saw that shining light, and It brought me back to where I was. To Vale, to the city that raised me. I wanted to pick the pieces of my fractured life up and do something with it. Being accepted into Beacon changed so much for me, it taught me that even someone who doesn't have much hope can do something good with their life. That's why I was also so upset with Aria, and why I was mad that she never understood me. But I think I just never took the time to understand her."

"Oh… Levi," Weiss said softly.

"We'll be here for you whenever you wanna talk, alright?" Jaune said, earning a nod from the young man.

"I'm glad you trust us enough to reveal the true meaning of those lyrics with us, Levi. We'll never leave you behind, you're sort of stuck with us now," Ruby said cheerfully, making him laugh.

"I am aware of that, Blake gave me the rundown when we went to see Tryst in the Mist," he said, chuckling.

"Look alive people, we're about to enter Atlas airspace," Maria suddenly said, causing the group to shoot to their feet, sans Levi, who regretfully had to remain sitting. The ship was surrounded by a thick dark mist, as they left the high atmosphere and cut through the clouds. The windshield finally became clear, revealing the beautiful floating kingdom of Atlas.

"Wow," Ruby said softly, her eyes shimmering as she looked at the floating continent. The golden lights of Mantle down below almost looked like a sea of stars, despite the thick clouds of smoke rising high from the city.

They could see the large snow-capped mountains surrounding the kingdom, along with the thick white tundra that made up most of Solitas. The outer edges of the land met with the ocean several miles out, large chunks of ice falling into the water. The city of Mantle was positioned directly below the floating landmass, thick support cables being attached to the underside of the continent. They could see the giant gravity dust-powered thrusters, which "kept" Atlas floating over Mantle. The skies were seemingly clear, millions of little stars shimmered in the night sky, accompanied by the green glow of the northern lights.

"This is amazing!" Yang said, a bright grin on her face as she looked out into the floating landmass. "I'm still struggling to believe Atlas actually floats off the ground!"

"You can thank the Relic of Creation for that, it's a constant supply of magic power that keeps the place aloft. The public story though involves those large graviton thrusters placed around the landmass," Qrow said, pointing to the large disks. "They're the same kind that keep Amity Arena afloat."

"Huh… you learn something new every day," Nora mumbled.

"Something's wrong," Weiss suddenly said, making the others turn to face her. She merely pointed up, making them follow her gaze. "That's the Atlas Airfleet. I know all of our ships were called back but…"

"They're in formation, they only do that when they're expecting an attack…" Qrow added, his eyes scanning each and every ship above him. He could see several smaller airships along with Atlas Mantas and several older models splitting off and heading to Mantle or deeper into Solitas. "I don't like the look of this,"

They jumped a bit as the radio crackled to life, causing Maria and Neo to share a look, before glancing down at the device. "Manta 5-1, Welcome home…"


Location: 2km from Argus, Kingdom of Mistral

"The body of former White Fang member Adam Taurus was found just outside of Argus earlier today. Argus Military base reported a loss of radar and sonar function and sent the appropriate authorities to investigate. What they found was instead the site of a battlefield, as the radar was left damaged and one technician was found deceased.

An extensive search for the perpetrator brought the military to a nearby waterfall, where signs of battle could be seen. Various shell casings were recovered from the area, along with some discarded pieces of iron and what looks like Adam Taurus's weapons. The man was found deceased, leaning against a boulder, a single laceration on his chest, likely piercing his heart. The autopsy revealed his cause of death as acute blood loss caused by the puncture wound to his heart.

It is also believed Mr. Taurus is the man who stole a tow truck a few days past and gave chase to a young woman on motorcycle, who has yet to be identified. We will continue bringing you news as it develops."

Cinder grit her teeth as she shut off her scroll, squeezing it tightly in her grasp. Not only had Adam failed, and had gone after Belladonna, but now Neo had taken off in an emergency, leaving her stranded in Mistral. Of course, Adam managed to procure an Atlas military ship for her, but going there without backup was not a wise idea. Neo had given her an address in Mantle for them to meet up at, but she was beginning to distrust the mute woman.

"I need to make sure things are going according to plan. Adam was going to be my ticket to death and destruction from within Atlas, but with him gone, I have no one. Neopolitan is ever the rogue pawn. I don't know if she's with me, or against me." the woman mumbled to herself, twirling a strand of hair around her finger. "Tch… if only I had Mercury or Emerald with me, at least those two follow me like the loyal dogs they are. Well… no use prolonging the inevitable,"

Cinder pressed the side button, activating the gangplank of the Atlas Manta she was set to pilot. Her eyes widened a bit when she found a note, written in sparkly pink pen, along with a picture. She stepped into the ship, scooping the picture up, seeing it was a photo of Neo, holding the Relic of Knowledge, her right eye closed in a wink. She turned to the note, seeing what was written in it.

"I was meant to accompany you to Mantle, but if you are receiving this note, it means something has gone awry and I cannot make it. You should have gotten a scroll message from me with an address. Flip that sexy picture of me over, you'll find the security deactivation code to the front door. Hope to see you there, Neo~

P.S: If you even think about setting foot in the master bedroom, I will murder you."

"Heh, how quaint," Cinder muttered, letting her maiden powers turn the note to ash. She looked at the backside of the picture, seeing the security code numbers written in the same sparkly pink pen the note had been written in. She stuffed the picture in her shirt, heading to the cockpit of the ship. "Neo might yet have some uses left. If she can still find the energy to taunt me, then she should find the energy to betray those idiots. And just when she thinks she's won, I'll take her out myself. After all, the power of the Winter Maiden is fit for one person."

She sat down in the pilot seat, flipping several knobs, switches and pressing a wide array of buttons. Before she took off, she reached into her pocket, pulling out a picture of Pyrrha Nikos. She smiled as she set it down in front of her, making sure it was perfectly upright. "You once asked me if I believed in destiny, and I still do. You are going to lead me to greatness, Miss Nikos. Perhaps I can take out that idiot boyfriend of yours while I'm at it. Even in death, you continue to inspire people, I'll be sure to rectify that,"

She let out a soft laugh as she urged the ship off the ground, setting course for the Kingdom of Atlas. It was going to be a long and arduous flight, but she couldn't help but smile. For the first time in a while, she felt giddy at the prospect of heading to a new kingdom. She would get the Relic of Creation and she would recover the Relic of Knowledge she had already lost, then and only then would she return to her master.

xxx(End of Part 1)xxx


A/N: Whelp this is it, the finale of Promise's Mistral Arc. It has been an interesting ride, but it has been a fun one. I didn't think I would actually write something RWBY related and actually manage to finish an arc. I had been struggling for years to actually get something off the ground. I wasn't able to get Team SWAN anywhere and the first RWBY story I wrote was so fucking cringe. I still look back on that as a starting point for my writing, it was the first story I ever posted and I love to see just how much I've improved since 2014. It has been weird to see this series evolve and change over the years, and even lose itself at points. There have been ups and downs and a lot of disappointments but I still inherently love it. It's like the Walking Dead for me, I've been watching it since day 1 so I feel the need to at least finish it, see where these characters end up.

Though this story started off as an idea, I am happy it evolved into this. I was talking about it with a close friend for a long time and I finally decided to put it on paper, as it were. After I quit working on danganronpa, I sort of felt a void in my writing. Hell even now, I sometimes have a had time adjusting to stories or finding something fun to write about. It isn't always, but that series left an impact on me that I'm still not over. I'm glad I can branch out into other things but I always think back on those days and wonder what it would have been like if I didn't drop everything to work on that one series for those two and a half years. It really took it out of me.

But that's enough rambling about that stuff. As I said in the last chapter, this will be the last of Promise until I post the Atlas Arc. I want to make sure it's as perfect as it can be. I have a lot of ideas I have to iron out and a lot of characters I need to situatate, to make sure the main cast continues to be fleshed out. I plan on making Atlas a lot more interesting, especially delving into politics, something that I usually don't write about in stories, but the politics in Atlas were so interesting, that I felt the need to include some stuff, flesh out the faunus in Mantle and all of that. Of course, Ironwood isn't going to end up becoming what he became in canon. They fucking slaughtered him and I will never forgive them for that.

I am also sticking to my plan of an original Volume 9. Despite getting the trailer for RWBY: Obiligatory Beach Episode (Volume 9 Edition), I have decided that it's better to continue with an original plot. I honestly have no idea what RT is even planning with Vol.9 to be honest but it's probably gonna be as halfbaked as the second half of Atlas was. Though if they fucking kill Cinder, I'll consider it a good volume. She has overstayed her welcome at this point and is becoming a Saturday Morning Cartoon Villain and that is just terrible.

Anyway... it has been a long time coming but this is it. It's gonna be weird not updating this after having a consistent schedule. It's been fun but I have to make sure I don't overwork myself. As for your suggestion, Cooldude, yes, I am aware of that story and I am reading it, but I just don't have the time I used to to read stories anymore. I'll continue reading it and seeing where it goes for now. I also plan on, like I said before, improving Ironwood and not forcing him to be the villain he was forced into. That was fucking shit and I am just... salty about it lol. Regardless of that, it's been a minute, and a fun one at that. I hope you all have enjoyed this crazy ride of a story, and if you didn't, well then I apologize for that.

I'm not good at goodbyes so... that'll do pig...

That'll do.