Ilia thundered along the pavement, leading the charge with Neon and the trio of children trailing behind her. Robyn's tavern was in sight several blocks straight ahead, as were columns of twisted bone erupting haphazardly through the sidewalk and road at odd angles. Though there were no grimm in the area yet, Ilia couldn't help but feel like something big was coming, and their window of opportunity was closing. A sudden deafening rumble confirmed her suspicions, and Ilia skidded to a stop as she began to look around for the source of the noise while the ground began to shake.

"Miss Neon!" the girl with pigtails yelled as she pointed up toward the sky. "Look!"

Ilia and Neon both followed the child's finger skyward to where Atlas was beginning a steady ascent. The long transport tubes anchored to some factories in Mantle were beginning to break free, shaking the very foundations of the city in key areas. Ilia watched in disbelief as one of the long tunnels buckled and collapsed entirely somewhere on the other side of the city. She couldn't help but wonder just how heavy they were, and how many unknowing citizens might be directly within their path.

"Uh… Ilia…?" Neon asked, earning the other faunus' attention. "They're leaving?"

"Leaving?" the only boy in the group asked, his eyes wide with panic. "But… but what about us!?"

"Don't panic," Ilia yelled over the noise all around them. "Just follow me! Move your asses!"

"I'm starting to panic!" Neon admitted as she picked up the boy and began to run after Ilia. "What are we going to do, meet up with your friend and swim out to Argus?"

"Argus is on fire," Ilia answered immediately. Though she expected nothing at all, she drew her scroll from her pocket to check if communications were already back up. Much to her surprise, she was greeted with somewhat positive news. "Local signal's back online! Worldwide is still down, but if you've got calls to make, do it now!"

"Yeah, I would, if my entire team wasn't dead," Neon reminded. "Though maybe… where's Yang? Could she pick us up?"

"She…" Ilia considered, her fingers already working frantically to dial someone as she continued to run. "…maybe! You have her number? Call her!" she instructed as she lifted her device to her ear. "Emerald!? Where the hell are you!?"

"Ilia?" came the surprised response. "I… fucked up. I sent Ruby topside and went after Robyn Hill on my own. I'm at her tavern, and she's n-"

"Oh, thank the gods," Ilia sighed, cutting her friend off. "I'm on my way! I came down to Mantle to pull your ass out of the fire, and now… shit. Shit! Get down to the basement and start trying to crack that door. We'll use it to escape to the sewers after I call Winter!"

"On it, but… what the hell are you doing?" Emerald asked "You came back for me? We barely know each other!"

"Shut up," Ilia ordered. "I'm not leaving you behind, and Hill's not getting away. I'll get us an exit, just trust me!"

There was a moment of silence, though the sound of running footfalls on a staircase was loud enough to come over the line.

"…I do. Gods, you're an idiot. You should've left me to die down here."

"And you should've gotten your head out of your ass a long time ago," Ilia accused. "Both of us should have. But we're here, now, and we're going to survive this. See you in five!"

Ilia disconnected the call and looked over her shoulder expectantly, only to see Neon staring frustratedly at her scroll.

"I can't get through!" the faunus whined. "Signal's really limited right now!"

"Then we'll improvise!" Ilia called as she slowed and squeezed at her thigh. "Shit, my fucking leg…"

"You gonna make it?" Neon asked, looking concerned.

"Take the kids and get inside," Ilia commanded as she doubled over to catch her breath. "I should call Winter out here anyway. Signal might be fucked when we're in the basement."

Neon offered a slow nod, though she didn't look entirely convinced.

"If you die on me, I'm gonna be pissed," Neon threatened. "I'll linger in the door and come running if I see so much as a black tail."

"You do that," Ilia agreed as she waved Neon away and focused on her scroll once again. "Get going!"

The other side of the line rang several times, and then, something most unexpected occurred. Ilia heard someone yell "hello?" outside of the call a split second before it came from her scroll in an identical, panicked voice.

"Winter?" Ilia asked, turning in the direction of the shout. "Where are you!?"

"I'm at the corner of… hold on!"

An explosion rang out from behind the coffee shop Ilia had stopped beside, close enough that she could see the glow of flames from the nearby alley. Without a word, the faunus ended the call and began to run, her wound screaming in protest as she pushed herself to sprint. A crackling downed wire hung loosely into the alley and Ilia reached up to grab it as she passed, instantly assuming the form of a bolt of pure electricity. With newfound energy and momentum, she flew straight through the narrow passage and emerged above the street where a full-scale battle was taking place.

Within a semicircular barrier of flames, Winter Schnee and Robyn Hill stood facing down a rapidly dwindling population of grimm. Half a dozen remained, though Winter was quick to dash forward and leap over a charging beowulf, decapitating it in midair as it tried to lunge for her. Summoning up a glyph as she flew, Winter kicked off the lingering symbol and rocketed down toward the only ursa in the pack to land upon its shoulders and embed her blades within the neck of the beast at diagonal angles. Robyn took the opportunity to fire a series of bolts from her arm-mounted crossbow into the grimm as it reared up onto its hind legs, exposing its belly. With an ashen burst, Winter dropped down to the pavement just as a boarbatusk began to hurtle toward her from behind in a rolling assault.

Ilia saw the attack coming and soared over the woman's head to strike down like lightning, meeting the rolling grimm with the full force of her electrified body. Just as the beast began to convulse and smoke, the faunus reverted to her natural form and speared the tip of her weapon through its gullet, killing it instantly. Ilia whirled and snapped out her weapon into its whiplike form as Robyn took aim at the charging trio of remaining beowulfs. A single explosive round rocked the area with another fiery burst, catching all three of the attackers and filling the area with more smoke and ash.

Winter was breathing hard, her uniform torn and hairline caked with blood. Robyn didn't look much better, though both of them seemed to still be in fighting shape.

"Amitola?" Winter asked, her usually immaculate posture giving way to a haggard slump. "What are you…"

"Doing a favor… for my friend," Ilia answered, equally breathless. "And doing my duty. Where are Whitley and Dickhead?"

"We're clear!" Winter called as if to answer, raising her voice.

From the same alleyway that Ilia had flown over, two figures emerged. Whitley was holding a fancily engraved sidearm with a grip that immediately told Ilia that the pistol wasn't his, and Jacques looked uncharacteristically frazzled and unkempt… as well as visibly annoyed.

"Well, we're certainly stuck now," Jacques spat as he nodded up toward the rapidly disappearing city of Atlas. "To think they would just leave me here…"

"I think most of the world would," Ilia hissed. "I'm here to save your ass, and I've got a potential plan. I'm heading for the tavern, and it's not far."

"That's exactly where we were heading," Robyn echoed. "And I've got a plan. There's an underground escape route that'll take us under and beyond the snowfields outside the city. We'll be safe out there, and I've got people who can take us in. Salem doesn't know about it… I hope."

Ilia simply stared in disbelief as the pieces suddenly came together in her head.

"…the boat and cave underneath your establishment," the faunus said. "That's where it goes…"

"Excuse me?" Robyn asked, looking almost offended. "How did you…?"

"Doesn't matter," Ilia denied, cutting her off. "We need to get moving… and I seriously hope you've got more than one boat down there. I've got friends and three kids that need to get the hell out of here, too."

"…follow me," Robyn declared, not meeting Ilia's eyes as she turned and began to skirt the flames.

Ilia was the last to move for the tavern, already thinking about what to do if things went the way she expected them to.

Sun jolted forward in his seat as something in his pocket buzzed. With shaking hands, he took out his scroll and found Blake's icon onscreen waiting for him. His heart leapt in his chest as he eagerly brought the device to his ear, not quite believing what he was seeing.

"Blake?"

"Hey, signal's back up, at least partially," the girl replied. "Ilia's still showing up out of range but given that we're halfway across the sea toward Argus, that might explain it. How are things in your plane?"

"Corsac took a pretty bad hit from Salem, but Jaune's working on it," Sun explained. "He should be okay, but someone should look at him once we get to Vacuo. How's Yang holding up?"

Sun waited as the line went silent, only to clear his throat after an uncomfortable amount of time.

"Blake…?"

"I… don't know," Blake admitted. "Sorry, I had to walk into the cockpit for obvious reasons. She's not okay, and neither am I, but she's… better than she was. I'll keep chipping away at it during the flight and we'll see what happens by the time we land."

"Yeah, that's… a sound idea," Sun encouraged. "Just keep an eye on her for now."

"Hey, hold on a minute," a third voice butt in. "Blake, hang up. I can wire us through to their ship so we can all get in on the call."

Sun pulled his scroll forward as the call ended only for a light to start blinking upon the dashboard. Neopolitan pressed it without hesitation, and a small projection of Blake and Harriet appeared floating before them.

"…huh. That's handy…" Blake mused as she offered a small wave. "And much better…"

"Yeah it is," Sun agreed. "Now Neo can talk, too!"

Sun didn't even try to dodge as the girl cuffed him upside the back of the head. He knew he deserved it and was simply happy that she appeared more amused than offended.

"Let's keep this line open and point out anything significant we see," Harriet suggested. "We should probably land in Mistral and potentially spend the night. Refuel, rest, and by then, Atlas should be out of reach and comms will be fully open. I know we've all got people we want to call…"

"Yeah," Sun agreed. "Let's do that. I want to know that Ilia's alright, a-"

Another light blinked upon the console and Neopolitan jabbed it with a finger with surprising speed.

"Hey, could you maybe not just hit random b-"

"This is Caroline Cordovin of Argus," the unfamiliar voice began as a projection of an exhausted woman appeared beside that of Blake and Harriet. "To any who receive this signal- a large fleet of grimm are heading straight for Atlas, and they have already broken through most of our defenses. Stay away from Atlas. Do not attempt to engage- there is at least one leviathan-class grimm leading the charge, and thousands more following it. We need reinforcements if at all possible. Send every able-bodied fighter you can to Argus, and with the mass exodus of grimm toward the sea, we may be able to take back our city. This message will repeat in 30 seconds."

"…you guys hear that?" Sun asked. "Harriet? You know her?"

"Yes, and yes," Harriet answered. "We can't afford to stop. If Salem manages to get to the Sword before w-"

"Sun!" Blake interrupted as her hologram pulled out her scroll. "I'm getting a call! It's… it's Mom!"

"What?" Sun asked. "Are comms really… put her on speaker!"

Blake nodded her agreement and held the scroll up, hoping that Kali's voice would carry. Though faint, the woman's unmistakable confident tone rang out from the device.

"Blake? Are you safe?"

"I'm safe!" Blake replied with a sigh of relief. "Are you still in Kuo Kuana?"

"Not quite," Kali answered. "We got word from a White Fang messenger, as per Daisuke. The entirety of the Black Claw is headed toward Argus now, and we're bringing a shitload of firepower."

Author's Note:

Nothing's ever over.

-RD