Midnight.
Cinder awakes on a bed somewhere within Monstra and sits up. She tried to remember what happened. She went to Amity in order to take the Maiden power from Penny. Neo and Emerald went with her, but even with their help she was unsuccessful in stealing the power of the winter maiden and was knocked out.
Emerald hurries over, kneels in front of her and takes Cinder's Grimm hand into hers "You're awake. I was so worried. How are you feeling?".
"You… You brought me back here" Cinder pulls her hand away and looks to the side, upset "We failed".
"Cinder, you were hurt. I was just trying to help" Emerald said, clearly upset by Cinder refusing to agknowladge her.
"I think she's had enough help" Mercury enters the room "Besides, she went against our queen. I'd be careful who you back".
Emerald looked at him "Cinder's hunch was right. If we'd had support then maybe we would've-".
"Would you stop trying to protect her already? She doesn't care about you" Mercury said.
Cinder becomes annoyed, and her eye manifests the Maiden flame "Both of you, get out. I'll let you know when you're needed next".
Emerald sadly looks away from Cinder, then looks at Mercury as he starts speaking "Yeah about that, Salem's got other plans for me. I'm not gonna be taking orders from you anymore".
Cinder's Maiden eye flame disappears and she looks surprised and saddened.
"She wants everyone on the bridge. Something big is about to happen" Mercury said.
"Where is Líf?" Cinder asked.
"Guarding that Lucina girl" Mercury answered.
Cinder got wide eyes. Lucina was here?! Why didn't learn about that sooner? If she really was here she wanted to see her... and she wanted to do more than just talk to her... so much more.
"I wouldn't try anything if I were you. Salem made it very clear that no one can be near Lucina without her spoken permission" Mercury said.
Emerald looks at Cinder while Mercury heads for the door. Emerald then sighs, gets up and follows Mercury. On their way out the door, Mercury is smirking and Emerald is sad.
Meanwhile, Lucina sits her room... which felt more like a cell. She spent as much time as she could searching for a way to escape, but with Salem's minions and monsters guarding her every second, she's had no luck. And even if she did find a way to get out of this room, she wasn't sure if she'd manage to make it out. Without her trusty sword, she'd had no chance of fighting her way out, and sneaking out would be very difficult... she was truly trapped.
She looked up at Líf who was standing by the door "She's using you, you must know that".
Líf said nothing as he merely glared at her. A silent warning for her to be quiet, a warning Lucina chose not to heed.
"You can call yourself Líf as much as you want, but we both know who you really are, Alphonse" Lucina said.
"Alphonse died years ago, that name means nothing to me anymore" Líf said.
"Then what about your sister? Have you forgotten her too?" Lucina asked, earning a deadly glare from Líf.
"Never speak about her again" He warned.
"Think about it, what would she think if she saw you now?" Lucina asked.
"We will never know, because she is dead because of him!" Líf said as his anger boiled over and he walked up to Lucina "Because of the man you served blindly! He sent us to die in his unwinnable war!".
"Salem killed your sister, not Ozpin!" Lucina shot back.
Líf grabbed her by the neck "You think I don't know that?! I spent years being twisted by Salem's horrible power. I endured only because I wanted revenge for my sister. When I was finally let of that damn table, the first thing I did was kill her... Or tried to... No matter what I did, she kept getting back up... and with only a single motion of her hand, she brought me down on my knees... I became her slave and I knew I could never have my revenge against her. But I can have my revenge against Ozpin, yes he comes back, but unlike Salem he can be killed. I can kill him over and over again for what he did. Salem may have been responsible for Sharena's death, but Ozpin was the one who threw her life away".
"Sharena... that's her name?" Lucina asked.
Líf calms down a little and lets her go "Yes...".
"For you to feel so strongly for her, she must've been an amazing person" Lucina said.
Líf smiled behind his mask "She was the best... Bright, cheerful, gregarious, and less studious and serious than me. She had such an upbeat personality, allowing her to easily form bonds of friendship with just about anyone she met. I used to tease her that she could've befriended a grimm if she wanted to".
Lucina smiled "I wish I could've met her. I have a feeling we could've been good friends".
"Heh, maybe. She would've loved you..." Líf said before his smile faded "But that can never happen now, because of your family".
"I'm not responsible for what my grandparents did" Lucina said.
"Grandparents... so it is true, both Salem and Ozpin's blood flows through you" Líf said darkly as he rested his hand on his sword "Wonder how they would feel if you died".
Lucina moves back before Thrasir entered the room and held up her hand "Halt, Líf".
Líf grabbed his head in pain and fell on his knees, like and inadvisable weight forced him down.
"Apologies, Lucina, he tends to let his hatred burn beyond his control. Now get up, your grandmother wants to show you something" Thrasir ordered.
In the torture room, Oscar is left alone.
Ozpin spoke in Oscar's mind "I'd like to express again that this is my burden to bear, not yours. His grudge is with me".
"No, it'll be even worse. He's holding back with me. I can tell" Oscar is now bruised, has a black eye and has blood smudged under his nose and by the corner of his mouth.
Ozpin "I understand. I do. But you've done so much already. The least I can do is give you a break and try to get us out of here".
"We can't leave yet. This is our chance" Oscar said.
Ozpin "Hmm, maybe you've taken one too many hits".
Oscar shook his head "Salem, she knows she can't take on the whole world at once. So she doesn't. She has her followers work their way in sabotaging us from the inside out".
Both "Maybe we should do the same".
Ozpin "We certainly are similar, you and I. Maybe we have been presented with an opportunity".
The membrane door squelches open, and Hazel enters the room.
"Great" Oscar said, he really wished to avoid another beating.
Ozpin "Oscar, please".
Hazel picks up Oscar and slams him against a bone spike "You don't need to fight this war, kid. Tell me what I need and we can be done".
"Hello Hazel" Oscar's eyes glow yellow momentarily, revealing that Ozpin has taken control. Hazel quickly becomes angered.
"Coward! All this time, it could have been you, but you let him suffer" Hazel tosses Ozpin to the floor "Now tell us how this damned Lamp works. The boy has suffered enough".
Ozpin stands up "Why do you follow her?".
Hazel walks over and kicks Ozpin hard enough to knock him down.
"I know… I know how you see me. But her? Look at what she does. How is she the answer? Why not stop her!?" Ozpin asked.
Hazel stops and looks away. He then walks across the room to a bone spike.
"Salem can't be stopped. She's a force of nature. I've seen it first hand. But you…" Hazel breaks the tip of the bone spike off and starts walking toward Ozpin, sharpening the spike on the metal plate on the back of his hand "You send children to their deaths for a cause that you know has no victory, no end!".
"Someone has to try! Salem isn't a force of nature because Salem can be fought! Unless she brings the Relics together. If that happens-" Ozpin is interrupted by Salem, who is standing in the doorway.
"Ozma. You have wonderful timing. The show is about to begin" She said with a dark smile.
A short time later, Salem is sitting on her throne with The Hound next to it. Lined up kneeling in front of her are Oscar, Hazel, Tyrian, Thrasir, Lucina, Cinder and Mercury. Kneeling off to the side are Emerald. Líf and Neo. Lucina was not happy about being in the same room as Cinder, but at least she wasn't next to her... but she hated every moment.
Salem stands up and walks over in front of Cinder, before moving to stand in front of Tyrian.
"We have good news. Tyrian has heard from our dear colleague Watts. Although he remains in captivity, it seems that he has worked with Ironwood to gain some control over the puppet masquerading as the Winter Maiden. I suppose he remains useful after all" She gently sets her hand on Tyrian's head, as he holds up a Scroll. She then turns her attention to Cinder, losing her smile "Speaking of which… Cinder".
Cinder's Shadow Hand begins hissing and smoking, and she grunts and cries out in pain, trying to hold the writhing arm still. Lucina gasped at what she saw. Her grandmother was so cruel, even to her own followers.
"You chose to disobey my specific instructions just to fail again" Salem said as Emerald watches wide-eyed, and Cinder has flashbacks to the times she was abused "And I've realized, it's all my fault".
The pain stops, and Cinder looks up in fear as Salem walks over to stand in front of her.
"You've fought your whole life unwaveringly for what you want and here I am holding you back instead of lifting you up" Salem holds her hand out, and Cinder hesitantly rests her Grimm hand in it. The Hound goes to Neo and then Emerald, sniffing them "You deserve so much more than I've given you. Go to Atlas, recover Watts. He can lead you to the girl".
The Hound approaches Cinder and sniffs her, and Cinder looks at it, tensing her shoulders up.
"Whether you or my Hound get to her first, you will finally have the Winter Maiden's power, and I will have my Staff" Salem said.
Ozpin speaks up "You'll only be helping her bring about the end, for all of you!".
Hazel slams Ozpin against the ground and then holds him up as Salem approaches.
She leans to his face, smiling "You're too late".
"Don't do this! There is no point to any of this! All those people in the Kingdom doesn't deserve to suffer because of your own personal-" Lucina stopped as a grimm hand emerged from the floor and covered her mouth.
"Hush now my dear. It's about to begin" Salem said in a dark tone.
An airship is flying through the air somewhere above the tundra. Inside, Elm and Vine discuss Penny, while Winter listens from one of the pilot's seats.
"Did the hack just not work? How do we even know we can trust Watts?" Elm asked.
"We have confirmed visual of her leaving Amity. She appeared to be malfunctioning" Vine answered.
Elm growls a little "This is why I don't trust technology! Now we're wasting our time searching for broken junk!".
Winter becomes annoyed and turns in her seat to look at them "Enough! You're Atlas elite, act like it".
Marrow, who is piloting the ship, puts his finger to the communicator in his ear. He then addresses Winter "Um, ma'am, we're picking up an open comms broadcast".
"Play it" Winter ordered.
Marrow presses a button. There is static as the console plays a communication from Jaune "It's headed straight for Mantle! I repeat, a large mass of Grimm is headed straight for Mantle! Please, anyone!".
Winter and Marrow look concerned, while Elm, Ingrid, Vine and Harriet walk forward with interest. Soon after, the airship lands in the tundra in front of Jaune, Yang, Lyre and Ren, who are riding the now repaired HVB Rhino hoverbike. Winter and Harriet hop out of the airship, while Jaune and Ren get off the bike.
"Great, you guys" Yang said sarcastically
"Did you hear our message? It's right there. We need to hurry" Jaune gestures to the river of Grimm Liquid to his right.
Harriet looks at Winter, then at Jaune "Where's Penny?"
Jaune looked at her in disbelief "Are you serious right now!? There are people in danger".
Harriet glares "There are people in danger because you kids are acting selfish and-".
The ground suddenly begins shaking with a series of earthquakes, which frighten people in Mantle and in the Mantle crater. The fear draws attention from Grimm.
The Grimm river forms a geyser that shoots up high enough to hit the City of Atlas. The geyser continues until it forces its way through the city's Hard-Light shield. Centinels spawn from the liquid. The Ace Operatives, Winter, Jaune, Yang, Lyre, and Ren look on wide-eyed, while Weiss, Ruby, Blake, Bernadetta, May and Ironwood watch in horror through a broadcast. The Centinels begin burrowing into the earth, while a military airship tries to shoot them. The Grimm then make their way through the ground and dislodge two of the shield's pylons, causing them to fall to the ground beneath Atlas. With the two pylons gone, the entire shield is disabled.
Inside Monstra, Salem smiles, and her eyes glow "It's time".
Monstra flies over to the City of Atlas and crash lands on one of its farms. The whale opens its mouth, and Grimm Liquid comes flooding out. A variety of Grimm spawn, including Manticores, Teryxes, Megoliaths, Boarbatusks, Apathy, Ursai, Beowolves and winged Beringels.
.
Tell me what you think.
