Ruby's knees locked up, preventing her from moving to where Clover had fallen. Her entire body felt numb, and she dropped her sword as she stared at the scene before her in horror. Flecks of ash were lazily trailing upward into the air from the bodies of the fallen grimm, and the entire area had started to reek of burning flesh. In an instant, all life around the fledgling huntress had been wiped away as though it had never been there to begin with.

It almost resembled the moment after using her silver eyes, when all grimm unlife had been swept away with a literal blink. Ruby's mouth went dry as an intrusive thought bubbled up, and she immediately tried to fight it back.

The world as it should be.

Smoke was rising as the fire began to slowly spread along the outside of the election hall, and Ruby suddenly felt as though she couldn't breathe. Only the tears on her cheeks let her know that she could still feel anything as she watched Hope descend to a place behind the nearby banister. The android hit the ground with a weighty clunk, and the noise spurred Ruby to finally start moving once again.

Though it was barely twenty feet, the walk to Hope and Clover felt more like miles. Every permutation of what she could have been about to see raced through Ruby's mind in a grotesque montage, and in almost every scenario, the man was already dead. She didn't know how she was going to react to seeing her ally full of holes, his blood oozing out beneath him onto the cold ground. Though Ruby barely knew Clover at all, she knew he was an important figure among the Ace Ops, and to several of her friends. She knew that he was a valuable asset in the evacuation and ongoing fight against Salem.

She knew that he had saved her life.

Ruby drew in a breath and held it as she stepped around the side of the elevated platform. Though Hope was knelt over Clover and obscuring much of his torso, Ruby could clearly see that the man was still breathing. Clover's eyes were closed and his teeth were clenched as Hope worked to assess and treat his wounds, and Ruby finally allowed herself to exhale. The noise came out in an unexpected, rattling sob, and she soon fell to her knees next to Clover's head. His eyes slowly opened to look up at her, and he turned his head to better face Ruby with a pained attempt at a smile.

"…don't you dare blame yourself for this, kid…"

"…how can I not?" Ruby squeaked. "You got hit saving me while I was trying to… I shouldn't have…"

"And we all went in knowing what's on the line," Clover reminded, squirming as Hope began cauterizing one of his wounds with a finger-mounted flamethrower. "I'm not dead yet, Rose. You've got to get inside… find Robyn Hill, and…"

"Who cares about Robyn!?" Ruby snapped as she wiped at her eyes with her sleeve. "Look at you! We need to get you help…"

"All of Mantle cares about Robyn," Clover said calmly, his voice remaining surprisingly even despite his situation. "Hope can… airlift me out of here, after I'm patched up enough to be moved. We can't let Robyn escape, or get herself killed in the burning building. There are probably more White Fang inside, or another one of Salem's agents. You might not think it's important… but she's a symbol as much as a person. We'll need her in the coming days to keep Atlas stable, from behind bars or otherwise. I'll be… fine. I've taken wounds worse than this, before. Get going. Focus."

"How can you say you'll be fine…" Ruby said, her volume trailing off as she looked over Clover's bullet-riddled chest.

"Vitals stabilizing," Hope answered, not bothering to look at Ruby. "Chances of survival estimated at 82% with preventative care and emergency surgery, provided Clover Ebi reaches Atlas within the next 15 minutes. Please do not distract me."

The numbness in Ruby's body came back as she looked over at Hope. The android was totally focused on her task of stabilizing Clover, her movements mechanical and precise. Her voice held no emotion at all, and her expression didn't seem worried. There was no hint of the old friend Ruby knew, and seeing Hope acting so differently was enough to give her pause.

"…you… you killed them all…" Ruby said hesitantly.

"Both you and Clover Ebi were in danger," Hope explained, continuing to focus on her work. "Eliminating all surrounding threats was the safest option to ensure the survival of both of you. I took action according to my logic protocols."

"Penny…"

"Do not…" Hope warned as her head whipped around to face Ruby. Upon seeing her former friend's expression of shock, she looked back to Clover's stomach and shook her head. "…my name is Hope, now. Do not be concerned. I would not let harm come to you, Ruby Rose. The loss of so much life is regrettable, but there was no choice."

"We might have been able to find a way…" Ruby tried. "Some way, any way…"

"They chose this," Hope doubled down. "They may not have known about the function of their collars, but they still intended to overthrow Mantle and seize the city for themselves. I am the protector of Mantle. I could not allow them to continue as they were, and you were running into danger. The situation has been handled. There is no need for more discussion on the matter, especially at present."

"P-… Hope, are you… okay?" Ruby asked.

"…you are wasting time," Hope answered. "Pursue Robyn Hill. We both have directives to fulfill."

"We'll both be okay," Clover reassured. "You really do need to get g-"

"Holy shit," Emerald's voice interrupted from behind Ruby. "What the fuck am I walking into…?"

Ruby stood up and turned around, wiping at her face once again to try to rid her cheeks of tear trails. Emerald Sustrai was breathless, looking as though she had been running full tilt for quite some time to get there. The former thief had her hands on her knees as she focused on regaining stability, and her eyes were full of an uncharacteristic fear.

"I don't even know how to answer that. It's you and me to find Robyn inside…"

"Is he…?" Emerald asked, leaning around Ruby to get a look at Clover.

"Chances of survival now at 85%," Hope answered without looking back. "They will continue to climb if I am uninterrupted. Neither of you should be here."

"Come on, I'm taking the lead on this," Ruby said as she began to move for the steps.

"Ruby," Clover called, causing the huntress to stop in her tracks. "Take my swords. They're way sturdier than the Academy stand-in you're using right now…"

Emerald moved to collect the blades from beside Clover. She looked down at the injured man for a moment, and found that she had no idea what to say to him. With a quick shiver, she jogged over to Ruby and offered her the swords.

"…is taking the lead really such a good idea?"

Ruby gave Emerald a glare as she dropped her borrowed blade and took up Clover's set of weapons.

"What is that supposed to mean?" the huntress asked as she gave the pair a test whirl.

"My Semblance works best if I see targets before they see me, and I can probably fool whatever security system they've got running inside," Emerald insisted. "Let me take point while you cover my ass. Besides- I have ranged weapons. You don't. I'm saying it for your safety, not as a criticism. Are you always like this?"

Ruby bit her lip as Emerald walked past her and up the stairs. A moment later, she moved to follow.

"…I don't know anymore…"

"Hope reporting in. Clover Ebi is critically injured, but in stable condition. I am returning to Atlas to bring him in for emergency medical attention. Please have a surgical team ready and waiting. Ruby Rose and Emerald Sustrai are pursuing Robyn Hill into the election hall. They will be unable to rendezvous with Marrow Amin and Weiss Schnee as planned for quite some time."

"About that- we're now evacuating outside of the Mantle wall, near the town of Rust. Marrow and I are setting up a landing zone as soon as we get there. Harriet is engaging Cinder Fall over our original destination. Recommend that everyone avoid that entire area if at all possible."

"We might need to designate another zone, too!" came Yang's desperate and sudden cry over the line. "Frostflow is crawling with grimm, and we're barely managing to hold down the far end for takeoff! First wave of evacuees is out, but landing another set of ships is looking dicey! If anyone's got suggestions, we're all ears!"

"The White Fang is no longer under my control, and they've been…" Cinnamon's warning stalled out to the sound of clashing blades, static, and a bestial roar. "They're saddled with collars rigged to explode! Killing the grimm they're paired with will kill them, too! We need a plan, and killing them all is not a plan!"

"This is…" Neptune began before pausing to swing his polearm in a wide arc, cleaving through the torsos of three charging beowulfs at once. Gunfire from the other defenders around the area drowned him out, so he raised his voice and tried again. "This is quickly getting out of hand!"

"You're telling me!" Sun acknowledged as he whirled his staff to keep an approaching selkile at bay. The humanoid half of the grimm reared back, raising its arms and preparing to lunge forward in a strike. Sun thrusted the end of his staff forward and pulled one of the triggers, letting loose a blast into the waterlogged woman's chest to send it flying backward. "We can't hold this down for too much longer! If another leviathan-class grimm comes out of the ocean like the last time we were here…"

"What the hell do you mean 'another' and 'like the last time?'" Neptune asked in a panicked voice as he backpedaled, pressing his back to Sun's. "There are giant monsters in the ocean?"

"How did you get this far in your huntsman's training without knowing that?" Blake asked as she soared over the boys, sweeping a wide arc with Gambol Shroud to bisect a small flying grimm above them.

"I plugged my ears any time aquatic grimm were brought up!"

"Guys, focus!" Sun called. "We've gotta fall back! If anyone gets pulled into the sea, there's no saving them! That, and we've got a terrain advantage up by the walkways! Funnel the grimm toward chokepoints!"

"Good call!" Blake yelled over the noises of battle. "Spread the word! Fall back!"

Sun and Neptune both turned and ran after the faunus, calling and gesturing to the students and hunters around them. The crowd began to head up to the ships, fighting off the grimm as they went. Mere moments later, a massive fireball rose from near their destination and the ground shook violently. The running crowd paused and shielded themselves as they looked toward the spectacle in search of any sort of explanation. It didn't take long for Sun to determine that the source of the commotion was an evacuation ship exploding and blowing a large crater into the ground, taking countless civilians with it.

Blake was the first to move again, rushing forward in a full, determined sprint. Sun sprinted past Neptune to pursue her, his heart pounding in his chest as he ran. Quite suddenly, Blake came to a stop and began to slowly walk backward, her feline ears flattened back against her skull. The sight was enough to make Sun's blood run cold, even before he saw the lone figure nonchalantly walking down the loading ramp toward them. With a shaky hand, Sun raised his fingers to his earpiece and swallowed hard.

"We… w-we have eyes on Salem…"

Author's Note:

Not looking great for the evacuation effort…

-RD