"This is… it's Blake. We managed to get two full transports into the air, and we… Salem downed a third that was near capacity before it could take off. Grimm are about to overrun the harbor, and only a few volunteer defenders are keeping them contained while she resurrects. I don't know how long that's going to be, but… our squad had to pull out, and there's no hope of saving those volunteers. We're in the air on the way back to Atlas, and we've redirected the remaining evacuees on the ground near our position to Frostflow. I'm sorry, everyone. We… we really did the best we could…"

"What the fuck!?" Yang cried as she sank a fist into the gut of an ursa before engaging a mechanism to plant a mine onto the beast's skin. With a leaping spin, the blonde threw a hard kick into the grimm's stomach, sending it tumbling backward into a group of lesser monsters before it exploded into a cloud of ash. "I just told everyone we're being overrun! They can't send people here!"

Jaune pressed his back up against Yang's, swiping outward with Crocea Mors to ward off an approaching pack of beowulfs as he did so. Yang responded in kind by extending the hooked claws from within her gauntlets and facing down the approaching wave of grimm on her end.

"Stay calm! Reinforcements should be here any minute now, and everyone's on edge! They probably didn't have any other option and didn't know what else to do!"

A streak of red light passed over their heads, skewering through a nevermore and tearing a hole in the beast's chest to send it spiraling down to the ground. The giant bird dissolved into flecks of black the moment it touched the earth, and Corsac dropped in next to the pair of teens to land in a low stance. He whirled his sai-tipped staff as he backed in close to his comrades to form a triangular defensive position, staring down the grimm looming within the darkened tree line encircling them. The sounds of the massive Schnee snowflake emblem fountain behind them were barely audible over those of growling and gunfire in the general area.

"Calm yourselves," Corsac instructed as he closed his eyes. "Focus. We managed to send 3,000 people back to Atlas. I believe we can save 3,000 more, at least, if we maintain defensive positioning."

"Compared to what we could be doing…" Yang muttered, refusing to budge as a massive grimm constructed of boulders pulled from the earth of the park lumbered toward them, knocking over several trees in the process. "We weren't prepared for this. Any of this…"

"Then we fight harder!" Jaune cried. "Come on, guys, we've got this! We have to make this work!"

Corsac touched his earpiece, ignoring Jaune's panicked yell.

"Daisuke- where are you? Are you still en route?"

"Edge of the park," came the immediate response. "Flying overhead in search of you guys. Give me a landmark."

"Giant fountain with a tacky Schnee emblem on it," Yang volunteered. "Can't miss it. We've got an LZ and a shitload of evacuees behind it cowering in fear. Get here as quick as you can!"

As if to answer Yang's summons, a familiar portal ripped open in the space directly to her left. Raven's appearance, though expected, brought a collective sigh of relief to the party as the woman walked onto the scene with her grimm mask in place. Neopolitan's subsequent arrival behind the woman brought nothing but confusion from Yang and Jaune, as well as a mocking tip of the hat from the mute girl as she dipped into an informal curtsey.

"What are you doing here?" Yang asked, her tone full of both surprise and disdain.

"…I honestly don't know which one of us that was directed at," Raven answered as she drew her sword and did a quick visual sweep of the area. "But I'm not answering, either. Neopolitan- get to the election hall. I have to go and save Taiyang. They're not doing well over there, either."

"Wait," Jaune commanded as Neopolitan began to move. Surprisingly enough, his efforts were effective, and Neopolitan came to a stop before him. "Just… both of you, actually… I have an idea. We could get another round of three ships in the air, maybe two rounds if we play our cards right. It might mean giving up Robyn, but…"

"…save six thousand lives, or catch one criminal…" Yang said. "You really do have a plan?"

"I… yeah, I do," Jaune asserted as he took a threatening step forward, causing the approaching grimm on his side to flinch backward for a moment as he raised his shield once again. "I need all of you to pull it off. All of you… except you, Yang. Nothing personal… but you could go to Ruby and Emerald and at least provide extra firepower."

"And leave you here?" Yang asked, whirling on the spot to stare Jaune down with an unreadable look somewhere between fury and worry.

"Trust in us," Corsac offered as he placed a hand upon Yang's shoulder. "Trust in Jaune. I do."

Yang clenched her jaw and offered the faunus a nod before returning the shoulder touch. With a swift movement, she barreled down on Jaune, causing the boy to momentarily flinch. As their lips met, Jaune relaxed for the duration of the brief contact before putting his guard up once again.

"Doing this also allows me to get you, Ruby, and Emerald out as soon as I'm not busy," Raven pointed out. "That just leaves Marrow and Weiss to get topside on their own."

"You're right… both of you are. Stay safe," Yang ordered. "We all need to get out of this alive."

Raven moved to take Yang's place as her daughter ran off, fighting through the wave of grimm to escape the park.

"…I hope her faith in you is well-placed, Jaune. Do you need me immediately? I really do need to get to Taiyang."

Jaune looked up to see a green trail approaching overhead, distracting the grimm as it moved in their direction.

"Get them out quickly, and come back. We can keep the grimm distracted until then with Daisuke's help."

Raven nodded and slashed her sword out to the side to open yet another portal.

"Are you in on this, silent huntress?"

Neopolitan gazed after Yang before turning toward Jaune with a questioning glance and a nod.

"Alright then," Jaune began. "Here's the plan…"

Not a word was exchanged between Ruby and Emerald as they slowly and carefully walked through the seemingly vacant election hall. Though a few civilians had managed to push their way inside after getting around the White Fang guards, none of them had made it far. The hallways were occupied by occasionally bullet-ridden bodies; the mounted machine guns responsible oscillating on their turret platforms and searching for new targets. Emerald had managed to help Ruby skirt around their fields of view as they progressed, circling their way to the backstage area of the main hall. It was then that Ruby received a call over the comm line from her sister, who sounded out of breath and angry.

"On my way to you. We'll get Robyn together, and then… I don't know. Everything's gone to shit."

"…copy that," Ruby said quietly as Emerald gave her a questioning look. "Yang's coming as backup."

"So… is it always like this with you people?" Emerald dared to ask as she inched along the hallway, continuing to lead the procession. "With you so-called 'heroes', I mean. Constantly making things up, changing plans on the fly…"

"We have to," Ruby replied as she inched along, keeping crouched low with both hands on her oversized pistol. "It's about adaptability- not poor planning."

"You sure about that?" Emerald pushed as she peeked around a corner before stepping out to take it with both guns raised. "Salem doesn't change her plans. Sure, she has the advantage over all of you, but sticking to the path forward has gotten her more wins than losses so far. I sure as hell picked a bad time to start feeling guilt…"

"I'd be more than happy to shoot you right now if you decide to change your mind," Ruby grumbled. A thought occurred to her seemingly out of nowhere, though her anxiety and the pressure of the situation probably had something to do with it. "What the hell is wrong with you, anyway? How could you just… you saw what Beacon was, and you were there for months on end living with us! You never once thought that maybe the school was worth saving? That just maybe being Cinder's lackey was the wrong move? Or did you know about Salem, too? That would make you an even bigger asshole than Roman Torchwick. At least he was tricked into helping ruin everything in Remnant instead of doing it willingly!"

Emerald suddenly stopped, though she didn't turn around to face Ruby.

"…and what happened to you? I know we weren't exactly friends, but those are the kinds of accusations and questions I'd expect from Yang, or Blake. Not you. Every time you've spoken since you got here, it comes off like you're about to snap."

"Maybe I am!"

The sudden yell caused Emerald to turn around and take a few steps back. Ruby was hunched over and breathing hard, her shoulders trembling as she kept a white-knuckled grip on her gun. There were tears on her cheeks, and for the first time, Emerald noticed that the girl's corset and skirt were splashed with dried blood. Her hair was flecked with snow and ash, her porcelain skin was streaked with dirt, and for a brief moment, the murderous look in her eyes made her more frightening than any grimm Emerald had seen in the bowels of Salem's fortress.

"Maybe… I am…" Ruby repeated, suddenly sounding almost as though she was out of breath. "And don't change the subject. How dare you do this to us and then act like you're part of the team? How can you even joke about bad timing and act like this is a normal mission? This is all your fault…"

Emerald simply stared, unsure what to say. A sudden noise as though something had been thrown against a nearby wall somewhere behind her caught her attention, and she spared a glance in its direction before looking back toward Ruby.

"…we have to keep moving. Every second we waste on this is another second Robyn gets farther away from us…"

"This isn't over," Ruby declared as she walked past Emerald and took the lead toward the nearby corner. "We're…"

A sudden cry of pain from the adjacent hallway interrupted Ruby's words, following by another noise as though something had fallen over. Ruby and Emerald exchanged a look before running around the corner with their weapons drawn, unsure of what they would find. The sight that awaited the girls made Ruby's stomach turn, though her first thought was that she should have been numb to it. She very much wasn't.

May Marigold was slumped against the wall, her breathing shallow and her eyes slightly glazed over. A long trail of blood was smeared along the hardwood floor behind her leading to where she sat clutching her stomach. The woman's shirt was darkened with blood and partially in tatters, exposing her flesh and what looked to be either muscle or potentially organs within a long slash wound. More gashes were all along her arms and legs, and one of her shoulders was exposed where her jacket had been torn open. Her voice was strained and weak as she looked up at Ruby, her eyes unfocused.

"Get… out of here…" the woman commanded. "Not safe… giant grimm…"

"We're not leaving," Ruby said immediately as she rushed over and began to examine the woman's wounds. Without a second thought, she pulled off her cloak and began rolling it into a tight bundle. "We're huntresses, and we're here to find Robyn Hill. Are you part of her security team?"

"Security team?" May asked with a hollow laugh. Blood sputtered from her lips as she coughed. "No… I'm one of her… Happy Huntresses. The only one alive anymore, for… the next few seconds…"

Ruby forcibly lifted May's hands out of the way and began to tie her cape around the woman's waist as tightly as she could. There was definitely something pink and squishy underneath, bulging through the wound. It was almost enough to make Ruby throw up as she pulled the knot tight.

"You're not dying here… but we need to find Robyn. What do we do…?"

"You're asking me?" Emerald asked incredulously as Ruby looked up at her. "I don't…"

"You leave me," May ordered, looking annoyed. "Just… leave me here to die. You're wasting time. Go and help Robyn. The people… need her…"

Emerald took a long, deep breath before blowing it out and shaking her head.

"I've got the best chance of getting to and saving Robyn alone. Get her out of here, and I'll push ahead."

Ruby held Emerald's gaze for a moment before offering a nod of understanding.

"…then get moving. This changes nothing. Yang and I won't be able to reach you if we're focusing on this. Raven will portal us out, and you'll be…"

"I'll figure it out," Emerald said confidently. "I've survived worse than this. Good luck, Ruby. I mean that."

"…sure," Ruby said uncertainly as she began to try to help May to stand.

"Be careful," May warned with a groan as she was pulled to her feet, her arm slung around Ruby's shoulders. "There's some… red-headed asshole… he's controlling that grimm. Robyn's headed for the tavern. There's an exit down the hall and to the right. I tried to… hold that grimm off, so she could escape, but…"

"I know the place," Emerald offered. "See you both topside."

Ruby watched as Emerald took off at a sprint. She wasn't sure what she was supposed to feel as she helped May limp along.

All she did feel was hate.

Author's Note:

Not much more to go before the invasion/evacuation is "over"… but the really interesting part is what comes after.

-RD