"Lone snowmobile en route to your position," Qrow called as he kept his eyes upon one specific monitor among the many holographic ones floating within General Ironwood's office. "He's not bringing backup, grimm or otherwise. What if he has a way to tap into Amity's systems remotely?"

"Then I'm relying on you to tell me when to confront him outside," General Ironwood answered over the comm line. "If he doesn't come in, I'll make short work of his vehicle and then bring him down out on the ice. The idea that he's coming alone, though… he knows I'm here. He must have some sort of plan to subdue me. The man stands no chance in a one-on-one brawl, even if he manages to take control of the arena and its platforms…"

"Then it's a good thing you've got Dr. Polendina and Calavera there with you, in case he has some way to hack into your prosthetics like he compromised Hope," Qrow pointed out. "The actual comm lines for all of Remnant are ready to be established as soon as we take Atlas up, and the first wave of evacuees from Mantle is arriving now. That being said, Salem's forces are starting to engage the Academy students and military down on the ground. It's… not looking good. Ilia and Ozpin are already down for the count. They've been moved to the infirmary with Cardin, Coco, Fox, and Neopolitan."

"How's the situation on the ground looking otherwise?"

"…too early to tell overall," Qrow said honestly as he glanced at the other monitors. "Raven's putting in work to keep the emergency evacuation chain open. The White Fang are starting to emerge, and they're… walking amongst the grimm, somehow, without being targeted. That isn't good at all. Our forces are holding their own, but the main wave approaching the docks from Argus hasn't hit just yet. That's when we'll know how screwed we are and how quickly."

"Beacon all over again, especially if that flying whale is anything like that giant dragon," General Ironwood agreed. "And that fact alone may cut our window of opportunity to evacuate short, depending on what they begin to target and how quickly they roll over the docks. The White Fang should be our first priority among targets, while the air force targets the whale. Push out the orders. I may be unable to answer you from here on out."

"On it," Qrow replied. "Take care of Watts, and I'll let you know if he begins doing anything suspicious outside the arena. Going silent for now."

The line closed as the door to the office opened, revealing one of the last few people Qrow expected to see. Though she took up very little space within the massive gap, Neopolitan's presence carried with it a weight that directly contrasted her stature. She approached Qrow slowly, a borrowed katana at her hip and her damaged hand held over the cord-wrapped hilt. The young woman's missing fingers had been replaced with a temporary prosthetic consisting of a blue jointed polymer prosthetic with black straps wound around her hand. It took Qrow no time at all to guess Neopolitan's intentions, and his expression pulled into a grim frown.

"You want to go down there," Qrow said flatly, earning a curt nod. "We still can't kill Cinder, you know. She's been sighted flying over Mantle, but the best we can do is stall her. It seems like she's looking for something specific..."

Neopolitan walked around Qrow, seemingly ignoring him as she made her way to the holographic keyboard beside him. Finally taking her hand off her weapon, she began to type away, the letters appearing below the floating, projected screens.

It's not about Cinder right now. It's about not sitting on my ass after making things worse for everyone. Vengeance isn't an option, so I'm fighting alongside all of you until killing Cinder becomes a valid path.

"You didn't make things worse," Qrow said uncertainly. "You got communications running again in Argus, at least. Maybe that will help the resistance forces somehow, or…"

Qrow stared with a grimace as the text 'Don't bullshit me.' appeared floating in the air before him.

"…you're right," Qrow admitted as he ran a hand through his hair with a sigh. "You… did make things worse, back in Argus. Could've gotten us all killed. I know you didn't mean to, and you thought that was our opportunity to take out a key player, so I don't hold it against you."

And I didn't mean to get caught up in a war. Neither did Roman. That doesn't matter anymore- we are caught up in it, and all I accomplished was helping the enemy by trying to kill Cinder and then hanging back here. I've got functional fingers, now, and I can keep a grip on a sword. I'm going in and causing as much confusion and chaos as I can on the other side.

"Is that really the best idea?" Qrow asked. "You're still injured. You're not in your prime… and liable to make a mistake again."

Ilia's needed down there to capture Robyn, but she's incapacitated. I can stand in for her with my Semblance and work some illusions with Emerald. We've worked together before, and the two of us could confuse even Salem. Hopefully.

"Help at the election hall… where things are coming to a head," Qrow considered as he looked at the monitor outside the location.

Flashes of gunfire lit up portions of the assigned video feed. Clover, Hope, and Ruby were rushing the entrance, engaging with attackers and their grimm backup on the steps of the building while civilians made attempts to flee with varying amounts of success. Bodies were strewn about the area, and even in the fuzzy video from the hologram, it was clear that there was a copious amount of blood coating the ground. More bursts of gunfire took up the majority of an unrelated screen as a pale figure appeared walking slowly down the street toward the camera, seemingly unconcerned by all those trying to stop her.

"Salem," Qrow hissed before pressing a button beside the keyboard to open communication lines to those down in Mantle. "Salem has been sighted! Sending coordinates! Avoid the area at all costs and reroute any evacuees!"

We don't have time, Neopolitan's text insisted. Call Raven. Send me in to help Ruby and the other two. The quicker we get Robyn in cuffs, the quicker everyone gets out.

"Damn it," Qrow cursed. "There's too many things to keep track of right now, and…"

Taiyang is down there. He tried to help me. Let me try to help him.

Qrow gave his unlikely companion a blank stare. Though he was unsure of whatever dynamic had arisen between the two, Neopolitan's utter refusal to look at Qrow told him all he needed to know.

"…fine. I'll call Raven back up here. Be ready to drop in as close as she can get you to the hall. Good luck… and take out as many grimm as you can along the way for me. I hate being stuck up here."

I'll do what I can.

"And if you see Salem… don't even think about it," Qrow cautioned. "Ilia almost got herself killed. If Raven hadn't intervened, she'd be dead… and it's not even a guarantee that she'll pull through the injuries she has right now."

I'm not stupid. Mostly.

"Heard that before," Qrow muttered. "Usually coming from myself. Go get 'em, kiddo."

"Sun! Headed your way!" Cinnamon called over the open line, her combat boots crunching upon the pavement as she took a wide corner. Citizens of Mantle were fleeing from something up ahead and skirting past her, though the faunus woman was totally unable to see the threat. "Does anyone know precisely where Ilia was when she encountered Salem? I'm not trying to run headlong into her!"

"Didn't see a street name," Raven answered. "Sorry. There was a clock tower nearby."

Cinnamon did a quick spin mid-run, scanning the skyline for any sort of tower. One was several blocks away, but no other buildings stood out to her as particularly tall.

"Well, it looks like something is going right today, at least. ETA 10 minutes!"

A pair of beowulfs emerged from a side alley, tearing straight into a crowd of civilians. Cinnamon aimed her arm-mounted crossbow as she ran, squinting slightly. The projectile screamed through the air, sinking deep into one of the beast's necks with enough force to bowl it over as the other turned to give her its full attention. Continuing her forward momentum, the faunus flipped the bladed limbs of her crossbow forward, effectively turning her arm into a flexible bident. The pair of combatants met in the middle of the road, and with a single downward swipe, a quick jump to the side, and an upward thrust, the fight was over.

Cinnamon pulled her blades from the grimm's throat with a satisfying squelch, and the beast burst into a cloud of ash. With the meager threat removed, a new pair of opponents appeared in the road amidst the rising smoke and ash. One of the two, Cinnamon recognized. The sight was enough to make her heart sink.

"Yuma…"

The bat-winged faunus stood on the cracked pavement, accompanied by a unusual companion. A massive reptilian grimm standing as tall as him on all fours stood at his side, its bright yellow tongue flickering outward to taste the tainted air. Both the faunus and the grimm wore matching collars, a green, blinking light pulsing in sync upon them. The giant lizard let out a hiss and tried to rush toward Cinnamon only to stop as if being held back by an invisible leash. A moment later, the blinking lights upon the collars turned orange.

"You're alive…" the man said sadly, offering his former leader a sad smile. "Good, that's… good…"

"Yuma, what the hell is going on?" Cinnamon asked as she snapped back the blades on her wrist and loaded her weapon with a series of bolts. "What is that thing? What are you doing with it?"

"Watts lied to us," Yuma began to explain, his eyes not quite meeting Cinnamon's. "He said you had been slain. I knew he was lying, but I couldn't… they kept me away from the others. Gave us these collars. The absolute fools, they took them willingly. He said they'd let us control the grimm. Start a revolution, take back Mantle from the humans and then progress to Atlas, just like we'd always wanted…"

"You're not making any sense," Cinnamon accused as she took careful aim at the lizard grimm's face. Again, the beast tried to move forward, only for something to hold it back. The lights on the collars began to blink a furious red, and Yuma's breathing quickened. "You're controlling that thing?"

"To an extent," Yuma admitted. "I can influence it. Order it to attack, retreat, direct it to follow… we were all given a grimm to help with the invasion. The collars are what do it, and most of the Fang was happy to accept them and take up the fight. The ones who weren't… some of them were killed immediately. Others, like me… Watts wants me to fight and die. Struggle against former friends. This scenario is exactly what he dreamed up when he made these twisted little things. If I order this thing to hold back one more time, or if I try to retreat…"

"It explodes," Cinnamon finished. "Or pierces your neck, or… your life is linked to that of the grimm, isn't it?"

"…I don't want to die, Cinnamon."

Yuma's eyes finally met her own. Within them was not only a deep sense of regret, but one of resolution. Cinnamon could tell that even though the price would be astronomical, her former subordinate wasn't about to just back down or accept his fate.

"And If I don't kill you, you'll go on to kill others in service to Salem," Cinnamon guessed. "You've already killed people to get here today."

"I didn't have a choice!" Yuma insisted as the grimm sank down into a stance, as though it was ready to leap toward her. Electrified spines began to rise from its back, yellow arcs dancing between them. "I'll do what I have to in order to live! Same as you've been doing all this time!"

"I'm not that person anymore," Cinnamon snarled as she kept her aim directly between the eyes of the beast. "I may still be out for my own survival, but now… now, there are limits. Otherwise, I'd be fighting beside you and saying to hell with the people of Mantle. I'm sorry, Yuma. You didn't deserve this."

With a feral yell, both Yuma and his accompanying grimm charged forth as several bolts were loosed in rapid succession and Cinnamon began to backpedal.

Author's Note:

Still more fighting… and lots of twists and turns to come. I had to make a literal spreadsheet of everyone's fate by the end of the invasion. Some of the results of all this… might be surprising.

-RD