"Ilia!"

Sun pressed hard enough on his earpiece that he could feel the plastic digging into the side of his skull. Again, there was no answer. Other voices rang out over the communication line in a garbled mess, but none of them sounded even remotely like the faunus he had come to think of as family.

"Sun…" Blake said hesitantly as she put a hand up on his shoulder. "We can't do this right now… you have to stay here. You have to trust that she's handling it…"

Sun hadn't even realized that his entire body had turned toward the entrance to the docks, his breathing heavy as he tried to determine which off-ramp was the least clogged by evacuees. All he wanted to do was run in a desperate bid to find Ilia, to the point that Blake's words barely registered to him. The only thing on his mind was her, and what she must have been facing alone.

"We really can't do this," Neptune echoed from behind Sun. "We've got a few minutes tops before we're swarmed. I want to make sure Ilia's alright, too, but if anyone can handle themselves against Salem…"

"No one can," Sun replied in a panicky voice. "If what we've been told about her is true, then…"

Blake's hand moved from Sun's shoulder up to his jaw, giving it a firm grip as she wrenched his head to face her.

"Calm yourself. Now," Blake commanded. "How do you think I feel? Ilia's one of my closest friends, and I'm n-"

"Ilia has been deposited in Atlas," Raven's voice interrupted. "She was impaled through the thigh, but otherwise hasn't sustained any major injuries. Count her out of the evac. Clover, you're down a man at Robyn's site. Call me if you need backup."

Sun allowed himself to stare into Blake's eyes for a moment. Her expression didn't change. There was no blame or anger or even satisfaction at Raven's declaration; only a silent understanding as she kept her fingers firmly wrapped around his jaw. With a gentle pull, she rested her forehead against his and closed her eyes.

"Focus. All that meditation you did with Yang… did you keep it up while you were here?"

"Not as much as I should have," Sun admitted. "I've been trying so hard…"

"I know," Blake said softly as she shifted her fingers to the side of his cheek and cupped his face. "We just have to keep that up for a little longer, now. I'm here with you. We can do this."

"Guys…" Neptune said warily. "This is great and all, but we don't have time…"

"We can," Sun confirmed as he pulled away and turned around to face the oncoming swarm of grimm.

The entire sky was black with splashes of red, gold, and white mixed into the ever shifting, writhing blanket of biomatter. The leviathan grimm led the charge, growing closer and closer and casting a shadow large enough to block out the sun over the entire harbor. All of the dock workers and Academy hunters present stood at the ready as the sea beyond the piers began to bubble as if preparing to birth something terrible onto the land. No one said a word until Sun raised one of his firearms into the air and drew in a heavy breath.

"This is it, people- Salem herself is busy, and her generals shouldn't be with these grimm. Tear through them and don't let a single one up to the evac ships! This is what we've been training for!"

As though his words were a signal to both sides, creatures both familiar and unknown crested the surface of the water and began speeding toward the assembled fighters while others began to dive down from the sky.

Clover's teeth ground against each other as he listened in to Raven's warning. The news that Ilia wouldn't be coming to help infiltrate the compound came out of nowhere and changed everything in mere seconds. There was no longer a concrete plan- only one with several holes, the basics of which relied upon two huntresses that hadn't yet arrived on the scene.

"We need to get in there…" Clover said warily, his eyes trained upon the people pushing to try to get up the steps and into the election hall. General Ironwood's message continued to blare over the billboards, speakers, and screens in the nearby area, doing nothing to help calm the citizenry. "They want to get answers and direction from Robyn. She's probably as confused as they are, and it's only going to escalate from here…"

"Crowd suppression is among my capabilities," Hope offered as she, too, kept her eyes on the civilians. "I could immobilize and then redirect the flow of citizens away from the steps of the election hall."

"No, that would just… cause more panic," Clover said as he considered his options. With a sigh, he pressed his earpiece and spoke again. "Ruby- ETA?"

"Right now," the girl answered as she slid onto the scene, a trial of rose petals scattering in the tailwind behind her. "Sorry I took so long. The streets are crawling with grimm in some sectors, and I couldn't just leave the people…"

"You're right on time," Clover reassured. "We don't have a second to spare."

"Right," Ruby said with a nod as her eyes wandered over to Hope. "What's the plan?"

"Initially, we were going to rely upon Emerald Sustrai's semblance to get us past the guards by going up the side of the entrance platform," the android explained. "Now, we may need to push forward sooner and less subtly. We have not received word from her since her announcement of intent to come here."

"Emerald?" Clover asked into the comms unit. "Emerald, do you read me?"

"Ozpin has been extracted," came Raven's reply over the open line. "Remaining with Taiyang's squad. Heavy grimm activity and civilian casualties in the area, path to evacuation vehicles is blocked. No viable landing zone."

"That was her squad before now…" Ruby said as she paled.

"Raven, did you see Emerald on your way there?" Clover asked.

"Negative."

"Shall I go and attempt to locate Miss Sustrai from the air?" Hope asked with a tilt of her head.

Gunfire from the direction of the steps of the election hall was her answer. As the trio turned to look at the assembled crowd, the White Fang guards began advancing downward, shooting wildly into the group of civilians as they tried to retreat. In a coordinated effort, grimm began to close in on either side of the street, funneling the citizens into the closing ring of death.

"No time!" Clover answered as he drew his twin swords and led the charge. "Aim for the gunmen first!"

"What the hell is happening…?" May questioned, her voice full of anger as she stared up at the monitor above the stage. The central room of the election hall was empty save for the blue-haired warrior, her faunus companion, and the very woman at the center of their campaign. "We're evacuating? What about the election? Ironwood thinks we'll just go up to Atlas at the drop of a hat with no definitive result and him in charge of half of the Solitas council? Why is this supposed immortal grimm queen suddenly an issue right now, on the most important morning in the history of Mantle?"

"I wish I could tell you," Robyn seethed, her arms folded across her chest as the announcement began to play once again. "Or at least, I wish I could give you an answer that doesn't seem to point toward foul play. Send orders to the White Fang outside- no Aces enter, and any civilians seeking shelter should be allowed inside."

"Wouldn't it be safer evacuating?" Fiona asked, her hands nervously balled beneath her chin. "We're not… we aren't staying in Mantle, are we? I don't think Ironwood would lie about the entire city potentially being under att-"

Machinegun fire rang out from the direction of the front doors, and Robyn raised her arm-mounted crossbow as she whirled in the direction of the calamity. Muffled screams made their way through the doors, and the distraction was just enough to cause her to miss the sound of mechanical whirring from above and behind her.

"Robyn!"

Robyn pivoted again, a moment too late for Fiona's scream to make a difference. The turrets hidden in the ceiling on either side of the stage had lowered themselves, the barrels of their mounted guns spinning up. Fiona leapt into Robyn's side and pushed her out of the way just as a hail of bullets assaulted the stage. There was no time to do anything but watch as Fiona's aura flickered and burst near instantly, giving way to plumes of red mist exiting her chest and limbs. The faunus fell hard to the stage as the trail of bullets began tracing its way toward Robyn, only to stop immediately as May held up her hand.

A wide bubble of muted color surrounded the women as May channeled her Semblance, rendering the trio invisible. Robyn quickly scrambled across the stage toward Fiona, who lay upon the wood unmoving. Another sudden burst of gunfire splintering the wood of the stage caused Robyn to jump as she checked her friend's neck for a pulse. She found nothing but cold, unresponsive flesh beneath her fingertips as blood seeped from beneath the faunus' body.

"We can't stay here…" May warned. "Whoever is controlling that is just going to start sweeping the stage and f-"

"I know!" Robyn answered, her heart hammering in her chest as she desperately pressed her fingers into Fiona's neck, hoping to feel something. "I know… but we can't just leave Fiona here, either…"

"We're going to have to," May said, the tone of her voice making it clear that she hated the decision. "Getting you out is priority number one right now…"

Robyn closed her eyes and balled a fist before slamming it into the stage and pushing herself up to stand.

"We'll come back for you," Robyn said softly. "After we find the supposed 'Mr. Digna' in charge of our security and bring him down…"

"He isn't here anymore," May warned. "But one of his subordinates is."

"Then we clear a path and find them," Robyn resolved. "I want answers… and someone's going to pay for this."

"This is Lieutenant Caroline Cordovin, leader of the ongoing resistance effort in Argus. Does anyone read me?" the woman asked into the handheld receiver, pausing only to listen for a response. She kept her other hand on one of the various knobs on the massive switchboard before her. "I repeat, this is Lieutenant Caroline Cordovin, we are under attack by a large force of grimm, and more are headed toward Atlas. Please respond if you can hear this message."

Another pause, and another disappointment. The lieutenant twisted the knob to the next likely radio frequency and heaved a sigh, mentally preparing herself for another exercise in futility. Despite the fact that she expected nothing to come of her efforts once again, Caroline spoke in a businesslike voice as she once again attempted to make contact.

"Lieutenant Caroline Cordovin sending out a distress signal and warning from Argus. The city is under siege by grimm, and more are on their way to Atlas right now. Is anyone there?"

"We read you. Stay on the line, ma'am."

Caroline blinked in surprise, her mouth already open and ready to repeat her message once again. The masculine voice was entirely unfamiliar, and its accent unlike anything from the area surrounding Argus. There was a shuffling on the other side of the line that suggested a device was being passed to someone else, and Caroline cleared her throat.

"Yes, hello? Please confirm that you understand. We are in desperate need of backup, if you are willing and able. If you are civilians, stay far from Argus. I ask that you get word to Mistral as quickly as possible and have them send as many hunters as they can afford my way. This isn't a normal grimm attack."

"Mistral's been informed," came the reply in a slow, haughty drawl. "I'm on my way with a small army. Got more backup comin' in two days. We'll free up the city, soon as we can."

Caroline raised a brow, trying not to allow herself to become hopeful.

"Who are you?"

"You can call me Lil' Miss Malachite," the woman answered. "See ya soon, Lieutenant."

Author's Note:

Someone's had a change of heart. Looks like Blake got through to her after all…

-RD