Divide.

A lone girl with black hair tied back into short pigtails is on her knees in the middle of a dim spotlight, slowly scrubbing a wooden floor. In present day, Cinder scrapes the claws of her Grimm hand against an airship seat to the same slow rhythm of the girl scrubbing the floor. Neo is sitting in the seat, piloting the airship. Thunder rumbles, and red lightning illuminates the dark clouds ahead, revealing Monstra.

Focused on the whale, Cinder moves to her right to stand between the pilot's and co-pilot's seats "There".

Neo looks at Cinder and then at the whale with a frown. The airship flies past Manticores and Teryxes, soon arriving at a landing bay within the whale's flesh. She lands the ship on the platform furthest to the left. Some time later, Neo and Cinder walk up a set of bone stairs, leading to a large chamber. In the middle of this chamber, Salem is sitting on a throne made of bone. Neo stops and stares with her mouth slightly open, before walking forward to stand beside Cinder.

She watches as Cinder kneels and places her right hand to her chest "My queen".

Salem stands from her throne and turns to face her "Cinder" She slowly descends the steps of the platform on which her throne rests "When I chose you as my vessel for the Maidens, I put my trust in you. So, I trust that you wouldn't possibly return to me empty-handed".

Cinder holds out the Relic of Knowledge "The Relic of Knowledge. I took it right from under Ironwood's nose".

Upon hearing this, Neo blinks her eyes rapidly in disbelief and looks at Cinder with an indignant expression. She then crosses her arms and glares. Tyrian's voice then draws her attention.

"Outsmarting the general speaks less to your intellect and… more to his" Tyrian steps out from the shadows behind Cinder while Salem takes the Lamp. He begins walking across the room "After all, you were outsmarted by those children first".

"And according to radio chatter, that same general and his forces outsmarted you. A shame Watts never made it back" Cinder said.

If Tyrian was angered by her words, he didn't show it as his face was surprisingly calm "I'm afraid the doctor was a necessary sacrifice. I do hope this little one doesn't become another".

Neo glares at Tyrian and lowers her arms with her fists clenched.

Cinder turns to look at Salem, who adopts a look of suspicious curiosity as she speaks "Who is she?".

"Neopolitan has some very useful abilities and has proven to be a valuable asset" Neo looks somewhat upset by Cinder's use of the word "asset".

"Hm, you certainly do enjoy collecting assets" Salem said.

Neo lowers her gaze, clearly displeased. The squelching noise of the nearby membrane door catches her attention, and she turns to see Emerald, Mercury Líf, Thrasir and Hazel entering the room. Upon laying eyes on Cinder, Emerald smiles.

"Cinder" Emerald begins running across the chamber toward Cinder "You're here! I knew you'd co-".

"Quiet" Cinder ordered coldly.

Emerald stops with a hurt expression on her face, glancing at Tyrian who clicks his tongue in disappointment "So devoted to someone so incompetent. While the good doctor and I were advancing the will of our goddess, dismembering the very body of this kingdom… you were merely atoning for past failures".

Cinder glares intensely at him "Polendina's creation interfered with the transfer of the Winter Maiden power… but now I know she has it. And once I return to Atlas, it won't take long to finish what I started. That power will be mine".

Cinder's expression turns from anger and confidence to surprise as Salem lifts her hand to shush her.

"I've given no such command" Salem approaches her throne, and Cinder shakes her head in confusion.

"Ma'am, now is the time to-" Cinder cuts off as Salem rests her hand on the throne.

The glowing red holes on the back of the throne light up more brightly. Salem's hand produces a red shockwave, and in response, a red design on the floor begins sending out repeated shockwaves, which move across the fleshy walls. As Salem speaks, a bright glow can be seen pulsating through red lines that lead out from the throne across the floor in several directions. She walks away from the throne with her back to everyone else, and a dark fog clears from the wall at the front of the room, revealing a view of the City of Atlas.

"This game is not yours to win, Cinder, it's mine. Just because you're more valuable to me than a pawn, does not make you a player. Everything is already in motion. All you need concern yourself with is your ability to act when I tell you to" Salem said.

"Of course" Cinder lowers her head "Without you, I am nothing".

Salem's frown turns to a smile, and she lifts her hand and waves them off. Footsteps can be heard as all but one of her subordinates begin leaving. As dark clouds drift in between the whale and Atlas, Salem turns and walks back toward her throne with the Relic of Knowledge in her hands.

"Now, Thrasir. Are you done with the task I gave you?" Salem asked.

Thrasir walked up with something in her hand "A simple matter, for an important task".

Salem looks and smiles, it wont be much longer now.


Inside a restaurant kitchen, May leaned over a map on the counter, speaking over a communication device.

While she talks, Ruby, Weiss, Oscar, Maria and Joanna walk inside and head across the kitchen "I know, Sector 3 is going to need the most help. I'm sending backup your way right now. Fiona, do you copy? We need transport from Sector 3 to the crater".

"Copy!" Fiona answered.

In the dining area, Jaune, Yang, Blake, Ren and Nora are sitting at tables while Penny and Pietro watch the news. The news network is displaying a "Fugitives" notice for Team RWBY, Team JNPR, Team LSBL, Oscar, Maria, Penny and Pietro.

As Ruby's group enters the room, Nora turns and stands from her chair, smiling. She approaches Oscar, who recoils in fear of another bone breaking hug, turning his head to the side, closing his eyes and putting his hands up to stop the tackle that he assumes is coming. Instead, Nora calmly walks over and hugs him, much to his surprise. He relaxes and hugs back, and Weiss and Ruby smile at the scene.

"When we heard you went off after Ironwood on your own, we…" Blake said in a shaky voice.

Nora lets go and walks away.

"How did you end up down in the slums?" Weiss asked.

"It's a… long story. I get the feeling there's been a few of those tonight" Oscar said.

"You don't know the half of it..." Lyre said.

Everyone looks at Penny, who looks down at her hands.

Oscar's eyes widen slightly as he realizes someone is missing from the group "Where's Qrow?".

Ren, Blake and Yang lower their gazes, and Jaune looks toward Blake and Yang before looking down, as well.

"We don't know. The last we heard he was with Robyn, but…" Ruby trailed of before everyone jumped slightly when the sound of wood breaking was heard.

They looked and saw Severa, she had dug her fingers so hard in to the table she was sitting at she actually damaged it. Of course she was upset. Her father was missing, meaning he's either been arrested... or worse. It's not something a daughter wants to think about.

"Severa-" Yang began reaching for her shoulder but Severa angrily slapped her hand away.

"Don't... just don't..." She said, refusing to look at her cousin.

Forget upset, Severa was furious... Knowing any wrong word could set her of, the others decided to give her some space.

Joanna enters from the kitchen "Alright, your friend is back now You ready to work?".

She is met with silence.

Joanna turns to look through a box of supplies and continues talking "The largest Grimm horde ever seen is hovering over the tundra, and out there is a city full of people with no heat and, from what you told us, no more military protection. And while we're happy to give you guys a place to lie low for a while… It's time to get those people some help".

"How? Ironwood is stopping all evacuations to Atlas. And we can't get them out of the city with Salem's forces surrounding us" Ren said.

"The crater. Beneath Atlas. It's not safe, but it's warm, and with everyone in one place, we can do a better job protecting them. May can send you where you're needed most. We've got to get everyone down into that crater before nightfall. In the slums, we might have a chance" Joanna said as she turns and heads back toward the kitchen.

"We're never going to sleep again, I just know it" Weiss said.

Joanna stops with her hand on the door and turns to look at Weiss "Either you're helping… or you're baggage".

She then exits into the kitchen.

Yang gets up and moves to stand in front of everyone "We need to get out there and do what we can for Mantle".

"We need to do what we can for everyone. What about Amity? And telling the world about Salem? We can't do this alone. We need help" Ruby said.

"Ruby's right. The Happy Huntresses are handling the evacuation better than we could. And there's a bigger picture" Blake said.

"But Amity isn't even finished. It was still under construction" Yang reminded.

Ruby turns to Pietro "Doctor? What would you need to launch Amity now?".

Pietro thinks for a second "Uh... We've made decent progress on construction and fuel collection, all potentially manageable, but uh… hm… Amity was designed so it couldn't launch itself without first being granted clearance from General Ironwood's terminal".

Yang turns to Ruby with her arms crossed and lowers her arms as she speaks "Ruby, there is no way Ironwood will cooperate with us".

"Geez, I wonder why?" Severa asked sarcastically, earning a worried look from Blake.

"But he doesn't have to. We just need the green light from his terminal, right?" Ruby asked.

Yang looked surprised "You want to go back to the academy?".

Pietro speaks "Actually… there is more than one terminal. The one in his office and uh… one in the main Atlesian Military Compound… at the base of the city. You'd have to get into the compound somehow, then, uh, get inside the operations room, and then… hoo boy… I might need to think about this some more".

Oscar looks at Ruby "And just to clarify, this is the easy option?".

"What you're saying is it can't be done. It's pointless. And even if you got the message out, there's no guarantee help would come" Yang said.

Ruby becomes annoyed "It's not pointless! Atlas is only Salem's current target. She's not hiding anymore and once she's done here she'll move on to the rest of Remnant. We need to warn them!".

Yang stands in silence for a moment "Ruby… when we came here, we said we'd follow your lead… but... things haven't exactly worked out".

Ruby recoils somewhat with a mix of emotions on her face. Yang's statement elicits various reactions from Weiss, Nora, Oscar and Penny, as well.

But for Severa... that was the drop that spilled the water as she angrily "No... You don't get to say that after the shit you pulled!".

Yang looked at her "Severa-".

"No! I will not let you place the blame on Ruby! She was put in a difficult situation and did the best she could. But remind me again who's idea it was to go behind everyone's backs and reveal top secret information to an complete stranger which all but destroyed what little trust Ironwood might've had left?" Severa asked.

Yang held up her hands, last thing she wanted was a fight with her cousin "We were trying-".

"Trying to help, yes I know. And what did you think the rest of us was doing? It wasn't your or Blake's decision to make on your own! Had it not been for my love for both of you, I would've turned you in!" Severa almost shouted.

Yang and Blake got wide eyes at that. Severa realized she let her anger go out of control and said more than she meant to. She walked outside, needing to clear her head before she does something she'll regret.

Everyone watched her leave, and the room fell in to a brief silence before Ren broke it "There are people here who need us right now. That's something we can actually do".

"I'm with them on this. The people out there wont last long without help. If we just leave them to fend for themselves, they will die" Lyre said.

"But this isn't about just Atlas. Ruby's right. It's about all of Remnant. They need to know in Vacuo, in Mistral, in Vale, what's coming. So they can prepare" Nora said.

"She's right. Even if we somehow got everyone to the crater, it's only a matter of time before the grimm overrun us. It would be a slaughter" Bernadetta said.

Jaune steps up "Okay. Okay… Then let's go for both. Get Amity up and running and evacuate Mantle".

"But that's how Salem got this far - by dividing us. We have to stick together" Ruby said.

"No. What Salem wants is to turn us against each other. Just like this. Jaune has a point. We can work separately and still be united" Oscar said.

"Or…" Penny spoke, making everyone look at her "Let me take the Relic to Salem… and maybe she will call off her attack on the Kingdom".

"I don't think we can trust Salem to actually do that. And the moment she uses the Staff to create anything else, Atlas falls onto Mantle" Oscar said.

"Nobody's turning you over to anybody" Yang said before giving a stern look toward Ruby and Nora "I think that's the one thing we could all agree on".

Ruby sighs "Okay. Then I guess we're going to Atlas. Can you help us get to that terminal?".

"I… suppose someone needs to help you bypass security" Pietro said.

Penny spoke softly but firmly "I'll go".

Pietro looks at Penny, who has her back turned "Penny, we can't risk-".

Penny turns to look at him, activating the Maiden flares in her eyes with a determined expression "I'll go".

Yang sighs "Do what you've got to do. I'm going out there to see what I could do".

"Yang, please, be reasonable. This can work" Bernadetta said while grabbing Yang's hand, making her stop for a second.

"Not all problems can be solved by hopeful thinking" Yang said as she pulled her hand free.

Bernadetta was visibly upset "And not all problems can be solved with punches!".

Yang flinched and begins walking toward the kitchen, and Blake watches her with a sad expression.

"Yang" Yang stops and looks at Pietro, who tosses her a key "Go by the pharmacy. I was developing some new tools for you all before… this happened. You're going to need them".

"Wait..." Everyone looked and saw Lucina walk in.

"Your up. Are you ok?" Ruby asked in worry.

"The pain is still there, but not as bad as before" Lucina assured before taking a deep breath "I'm going with you, Yang".

Yang looked surprised, she did not expect that at all "Are you sure? I mean you...".

"My grandmother is the one causing all this. If I stand by and do nothing... Then what difference is there between me and her?" Lucina asked.

Yang was silent for a moment before managing a small smile "Alright, welcome on board".

Lucina looked at Ruby "I'm sorry...".

"Don't be. I trust you Lucina. Do what you need to do" Ruby assured with a sad smile.

Lucina touched her cheek and then kissed her. She could never forgive herself if she didn't do it at least one more time. Ruby blushed but accepted it.

Ren looks at his partner "Nora?".

"I'm going with Ruby" Nora said.

"But what about Mantle?" Ren asked.

"Oh, I'm saving Mantle! Because I actually believe we can do this" Nora answered.

Lyre walked up to Weiss "Good luck...".

Weiss takes her hands "Try not to get in to to much trouble, ok?".

Lyre smiled "Yes Ma'am".

Yang looked at Bernadetta one more time, and not wanting this to end on a bad note, Bernadetta spoke "I love you...".

Yang looked relived "I love you too".

And with that, everyone went on their own missions.


On a rooftop the Amity team stood ready, with somewhat sad expressions, but then musters up a look of determination. Nora walks over to Ruby, Blake and Weiss.

Blake puts her hand on Ruby's shoulder "Hey, we're still united".

"I hope so" Ruby said.

"We can do this, I know we can" Bernadetta said, trying to stay hopeful.

Maria speaks over a ear-piece "I can get Pietro out to Amity to prepare, but that doesn't answer how we're getting all of you up to Atlas".

Weiss speaks up "I might actually have an idea f-".

A beeping tone starts playing from someone's Scroll. The girls look confused, and Blake, Ruby, Bernadetta and Nora check their Scrolls. The four of them then turn to look at Penny, who is holding her ringing Scroll, unsure of what to do. The scroll's screen says: Incoming Call General Ironwood

Penny nervously taps the Talk icon, accepting the call "Hello, Penny. I'm worried for your safety. Tell me where you are and I'll have you picked up right away. Atlas needs you, Penny. Salem is here".

Ruby walks over to Penny, who allows her to take the Scroll "She's not going anywhere until you change your mind about Mantle. There's still a chance for Remnant to be-".

"Mantle… You're still worried about Mantle?! Remnant is doomed, Ruby. Unless we leave, Salem will destroy Atlas and with it, any hope Humanity has left. We need to think about the future. If she makes it through our defenses, everything that follows will be on your hands" With Ironwood's final statement, Penny tenses, becomes worried, and then leans into a hug from Ruby. Ruby's brave face falters, and she looks somewhat worried.

"Hey!" Everyone looked and saw Severa arriving "Still room for one more on this mission?".

Ruby runs up and hugs her cousin, happy to have at least one family member by her side. Severa hugs her back, rubbing her younger cousin's back. They needed this moment for what comes next.


Back inside Monstra, a fleshy membrane door tears open. Salem stands on the other side holding the Relic of Knowledge.

"I have questions for you" She holds the Relic out to a Grimm, whose only features shown are its large jaw. It sniffs the Relic and opens its gaping maw slightly "But first I need the one who can show me how. Bring him to me... But if you should happen to find someone else, bring her to me as well" She puts something inside the grimm "You are certain this will work, right?".

Thrasir stood next to her "If she has even a shred of your blood in her veins, he will have no problems finding her".

Salem smiled, at long last, she can't hide from her anymore. She will find her, and she will bring her back.

The Grimm growls menacingly.

.

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