Before this chapter begins, I just wanted to offer up the statistics that I've written down from the year of 2021. Bear with me, please.

We achieved a total of 6,549 total views this past year with 1,774 of those being registered users. Holy cow, that's a lot. I never thought I'd have almost 7k views on any of my stories total, much less just one in a single year.

Our best time of the year in 2021 was March with 818 views and January with 247 visitors.

Again, I wish to thank you all. You've made me the happiest person on this platform and I cannot wait to take these tears of joy in my eyes and turn them to ink on a page (oh, you know what I mean). Here's to 2022! I hope we double these numbers!

Metal like Roses

By ReaderWarrior

I do not own Mistborn or RWBY. Please support the official release.

Their Ways and Its Means

Beta'd by: Icarus720

As always, please comment! It honestly makes my day to read your thoughts and opinions.

Tell your friends!

"Are you sure it's safe here?"

"I can't find my daddy!"

Oh, for the love of… put that down!"

"My watermelons!"

Ren sighed as he continued to help more and more Valian civilians off of the most recent bullhead arrival. It was easier this time around since he was no longer straining his semblance to keep everyone hidden from the Grimm. Ren could already tell his aura was in the red from using it so much during the flight and boarding.

But he wasn't focused on that now. Even as he helped passenger after passenger of men, women, children, and senior citizens down from the jump off the bullhead's steps onto the 'ground' of Amity colosseum, he couldn't stop from worrying about those a thousand feet below them.

Especially Nora.

While he had come to love his teammates, as well as team RWBY and their newest member, Vin, Nora was almost always in the back of his mind.

That's because you've known her for longer, the sensible part of his mind argued. We know her better. Especially compared to Vin.

The part of his mind that he usually kept hidden spoke next. That's not the real reason and you know it. You just won't let yourself risk that again. That's why you haven't-

"Is that the last one?" Ren asked, calling up to the pilot to try and keep himself on track instead of falling down that rabbit hole.

The pilot steps out and unclips his helmet. She nods. "Yeah. I'm the last one. Why?"

Ren looks over the ledge and can barely see the top of one of Beacon's spires. "What happened to all the Huntresses and Huntsmen?" he asks.

"I don't know," she replies, shaking her head. "Last thing I heard was chatter about a med-evac while we were up in the air."

"A med-evac?" Ren repeats, fear dripping into his voice. Who is hurt? Please tell me Nora is okay.

Sun Wukong walks up from behind him and places a hand on his shoulder. "I'm sure they're fine, man." He then looks up at the pilot, asking, "Did they say who was injured?"

Shaking her head, the woman jumps down from the bullhead. "I'm sorry. But if you need to know, their airship should be arriving shortly. The general is on board, so I'm sure they'll be safe."

Ren sighed and bowed to the pilot. "Thank you."

"There's no need to thank me," she blushes. "I'm just keeping an ear out for my old wingman."

"Hey, we could use some help over here!" a voice cries out. Ren and Sun turn around, seeing a small group of people struggling to hold down a man on a stretcher. The two Huntsmen run over and both of them try to ignore the fact his leg was bent in multiple angles.

Ren was used to such sights, however, and quickly asked, "what happened?" He and Sun quickly grab ahold of the man's arms to try and hold him still.

One of the officers, a nurse by the judge of his attire, grunted as they used one hand to push down on the person's chest while his other shuffled through his bag. "Didn't see the Grimm in time. Somebody pushed him down and nobody else noticed. A few broken ribs and a definite concussion from the stampede. By the time someone got to him, a Beowolf had his leg in its jaw. I've been trying to calm him down-"

The nurse pauses to let out a laugh as he pulls out a syringe. "Finally!" Ren watches as the nurse then injects its contents into the injured man, which instantly causes him to stop struggling and go limp.

"Phew," the medic sighs. He relaxes as his patient calms down and leans back, wiping sweat from his brow. "Thanks for that. Third one I've had this week and I'm barely able to move anymore."

Sun groans and rubs his neck. "I feel ya. This has been a long day."

"Night," Ren corrects, looking up at the early night sky. "While this battle may have begun in the sunlight, it has easily drawn out into the dusk." Following his gaze, Sun raises his tail to his eyes and peers towards the almost-hidden lit horizon. He drops his appendage and sighs.

Agreeing with his sentiment, Ren almost does the same. However, he remembers his personal training and keeps himself from doing so. A shadow, he reminds himself, a shadow to hide my weakness. Keep yourself akin to a shadow and all shall pass through you with no harm.

"Hey," Sun interrupts. "I'm going to check in near the center of the stadium. Want to come?"

Ren glances back towards the docking strip, where the last few empty parking areas remained. How he wished he could run over and commandeer a bullhead, finding his friends - his family - and doing whatever he could to help. But that wasn't what he was told to do.

It wasn't what Nora asked him to do.

Mentally sighing, he offers a prayer to the Brothers or any of the other gods and deities he had learned about in his travels. Then he turned to help wherever he could.

The bullhead shook rapidly as they continued their ascent towards Amity Colosseum. Every tremor that passed through the ship felt like an attack. Every time they dipped, Jaune thought a Grimm had landed on top of them.

Just breath, he told himself. Everything is fine. We're going to be okay. Just focus on something else! Like, um, Pyrrha!

Jaune looked to his side where Pyrrha stood, still protective of Vin and keeping herself by her side. She was obviously tired and Jaune could tell it wasn't just physical drowsiness and fatigue. For the first time ever, Pyrrha seemed… vulnerable. Almost as if she'd seen something and lost her confidence.

But she's still beautiful, he smiled, watching her red hair bounce as the airship bounced once more. What am I thinking? Stop thinking about her!

Face going red, Jaune turned away from Pyrrha and looked out the window. The view was indescribable at best. The darkening sky and their passing through the clouds made the passing scenery seem like a painting. Waves of blacks rolled across the glass.

Across from him, Yang held onto her sister's hand as Ruby remained unconscious on a medical cot. Weiss lay next to her, her arm (oh, Gods, her arm) remains covered in red bandages, even though Jaune remembers them being white when they first left, and every so often she would spasm. Ironwood, along with Penny, was in the cockpit, communicating with someone through a headset, but they closed the door.

"Do you think everyone made it out in time?" Nora asked, causing Jaune to jump. Somehow, the usually loud and extremely outgoing girl was able to make herself practically invisible - silent, even.

Jaune blinked. A silent Nora… Geeze, maybe this really is the end.

"What do you mean?" Pyrrha asked.

Nora nodded to Jaune. "Well, Jaune had the idea to use Amity as a kind of safe house for all the Valian evacuees. That's what we were doing."

Blushing, Jaune waved his hands. "It was a group effort! And I wouldn't have thought of it if Russel didn't say that nowhere was safe on Remnant." He chuckled to himself. "Who would have thought CDRL would have helped me come up with this crazy plan."

"It's not crazy," Pyrrha interrupts. She slowly walks over from Vin's side and wraps her hands around one of Jaune's gauntlets. "That was, is, an incredible idea. And it was your idea, no one else's. I only wish I could have been there to see you lead it."

Nora smirked as Jaune felt his face go from a light red, something capable of matching his partner's hair. "Yeah, Jaune-y was all confident for a bit. It was kinda cute."

"If only I was there to see it," Pyrrha mumbled.

Just kill me now.

Trying to move past this conversation, Jaune turned to Pyrrha and asked, "where were you, though? Last we heard, you were being called over to Ozpin's office for something. I thought you'd be with him."

"Maybe he took her to his secret bunker," Nora giggled. "But Pyrrha, our glorious teammate, would not dare to let her friends die. So, to defend us and all of her comrades at her place of training, she broke free of her captor's cell and awakened the powers within her all along to help push back the darkness and slay the evil king!"

Jaune and Pyrrha looked at Nora and both blinked, confused. "What?" The blonde asked, unable to even comprehend Nora's statement. "That doesn't even make sense. Why would Ozpin be her captor? And who's the 'evil king'?"

Nora waved her hand dismissively. "I don't know, ask Blake. It was her book."

Giggling, Pyrrha shook her head and Jaune rolled his eyes.

"I'm sorry," she said. "But I seriously doubt the credibility of one of her smut books capable of describing our situation."

"I never said which book it was," Nora smirked before giving an evil laugh.

Now it was Pyrrha's turn to blush. Even though he tried not to, Jaune too let out a small chuckle.

"Can you guys stop?" a voice snapped. The three members of team JNPR twist their necks to see Yang smashing a fist into the ground, denting it. She snarls, adding, "people are hurt and you're over there laughing about books! Shut up!"

Instantly, Nora and Pyrrha reverted back to how they were moments ago, quiet and sullen. "Sorry," they mumbled.

Jaune, however, frowned and grabbed Yang's shoulder. "There's no need to be rude. We're all dealing with this our own ways and-"

"And you were just helping people! Ruby was fighting the Godsdammed White Fang and I was trying to get Vin away from a bunch of terrorists!" Yang still hadn't turned away from her sister, but Jaune could see she was shaking.

"Yang," Jaune whispered, ignoring her outbursts and provocations. "Where's Blake?" He dropped to a knee and felt Yang's shaking recede. "We heard from Ms. Goodwitch that she was going after you and Vin.

"What happened to Blake?"

Turning around, Jaune finally got to see Yang's face since the bullhead took off. Her cheeks were red, her eyes puffy, and tears were rolling down her face like a river that had just broken through its dam. Jaune's breath hitches as he jumps to a realization. Oh, no.

"She's… gone," Yang cried. "And she's never coming back."

"I'm so sorry," Pyrrha whispered, mimicking Jaune and kneeling next to him. She wraps her arms around her neck and does her best to offer a hug to the female blonde. "Did you see-?"

Yang shook her head. "We needed you… where were you?"

Stammering, Pyrrha let go of Yang and leaned back. She cast a quick glance at the front cabin and sighed. "I was called into Professor Ozpin's office. He, along with General Ironwood and your uncle, were all there to offer me an opportunity to help people."

"Uncle Qrow was there?" Yang asked, her voice hollow.

Pyrrha nodded. "Yes. But not for long. I think that's when today's events occurred. The general and your uncle quickly ran off to help. But Professor Ozpin wished for us to look into a project of his."

"A project?" Jaune frowned. "For what? A new weapon?"

"No… it's much worse than that," she explains, opening her palm and looking down upon it. "There was a girl… and her name was Amber."

"Was?"

Pyrrha nodded once more. "She was the Fall Maiden. But she was hurt and comatose. So Professor Ozpin… he had this machine that would allow me to access her powers." With the stretching of her fingers, a small ball of flame sparked to life. It grew slowly and flickered across her palm. "He gave me all that remained of her."

And on her eye burned a small halo of emerald flame.

"Woah!" Nora gasped. She grabbed Pyrrha's cheeks and inspected the glowing addition to her face. "That's so cool! Are you a Maiden now? Can you really fly and do everything in the stories? It would be so cool if you could read minds!"

Jaune shared Nora's surprise and enthusiasm, studying the ball of flame in her hand. He poked it hesitantly and found it wasn't hot, but warm. It didn't burn him. Cool, he thought.

However, Pyrrha was less than ecstatic. "I'm only half of one, I'm afraid," she explains. "Cinder has the other half and she killed Amber just as the transfer was completed." Pyrrha snarled when saying the other girl's name, something Jaune had never seen his teammate do before. "And I have only had these powers for only a brief time. I do not know what I can or cannot do."

"Could you heal Ruby?" Yang asked, hope prominent in her voice.

Pyrrha shakes her head sadly. "I don't know. And even if I could, I wouldn't know where to start." She turns to the leader of their sister team. Still unmoving and laying on her cot, not even an eye-twitch to indicate dreams are visible. "I'm sorry."

Yang's eyes well up again, but no tears fall this time. "Thanks… I just hoped… never mind."

Hope, Jaune thought as the airship finally passed through the cloud layer, revealing the large shape of Amity reflecting off the broken moon's light. That's all we can do.

Penny watched as General Ironwood shook his head in disbelief before resuming to yell through his scroll. Luckily, the door to the cabin was closed, so nobody could hear.

But Penny hadn't yet learned how to turn off her ears.

"I don't care how much it will cost you, Jacques, I need you to stop all your dust orders now," the Atlesian general snarled.

"You cannot just expect me to cease all trades and purchases on a wim!"

Mr. Schnee's voice echoed throughout the metal container. Ever since General Ironwood called him, the man's voice continued to rise in volume. Penny could see the screen displaying his face and found it surprising that even with all of Mr. Schnee's yelling, he somehow managed to keep himself composed visually. Not a hair was out of place and his suit, from what Penny could see, remained unwrinkled.

Her father always said you could never trust a man in an unwrinkled suit. Maybe I should ask him why when I see him next, she thought, letting it distract her.

However, the two men had no intention of letting Penny do so.

"I am ordering you as a sitting member of the Atlesian Council and as the general of its forces to freeze all trade and movements of dust outside of Atlas! I have the right to do so in times of war and if you think this is a simple 'wim', remind me to send you a copy of the list of names of dead soldiers and Huntsmen I shall be receiving tonight!"

Mr. Schnee sneered into the screen. "They knew what they were signing up for. Not my fault they foolishly let you lead them into the Manticore's den."

The sound of General Ironwood's fist hitting the console made Penny jump. "That's your daughter, Jacques!"

"Winter made her choice. And I was already preparing to have Weiss return to me as soon as she finished that blasted festival."

"So you have a ship already in the area?" Ironwood asked. "I know you. You'd never risk losing a lien hiring mercenaries or certified Huntsmen. When did you have your ship sneak its way into our convoy? Or did you bribe one of my men to 'overlook' an extra bullhead when we first left Solitas?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," Mr. Schnee sputtered.

The general rolled his eyes. "Cut the bullshit. I'm willing to let it go if you let me use it."

Glaring into the screen, Mr. Schnee leaned forward and crossed his arms. "What for?"

"I have some students here that need immediate medical assistance," he explains, casting a glance to the stern of the airship. "One of them is your daughter. We brought enough equipment to stabilize them, maybe, but I'm sure that ship you sent has more than enough room to carry a few passengers back to our hospitals back on Atlas."

"…" Mr. Schnee was silent for a few moments. In that brief time, General Ironwood looked back at Penny and nodded to her. Penny smiled, hoping to cheat him up. But it didn't work. General Ironwood turned back to the screen, still keeping his face resolute. "I think that may be an amicable agreement, James. I'll see to it my escort makes a quick check-up with you to receive any passengers before returning home. After all, the elections are coming up soon and I'd hate to disappoint any potential constituents."

"Good. And if I hear so much as a whisper that you're selling dust, even in person, I'll tariff your goods so tightly, you'll go bankrupt," General Ironwood reminds him.

Not bothering with a response, Mr. Schnee turns off his communicator and disappears off the screen. The general sighs when he does so and rubs the bridge of his nose.

"Damn politicians," General Ironwood mumbles. He quickly shakes his head, as if to wash away his drowsiness and exhaustion. "What's next?"

Penny steps forward, keeping her arms in front of her like she was taught. "Sir? Three of my friends are unconscious right now, not two."

"Yes, I am aware," General Ironwood explains. "But I've been in this for a long time and I can recognize certain ailments. Ms. Rose will be fine. I've already made arrangements for her and her sister to be taken home to their place in Patch."

"Oh… I see."

The Atlesian man nods and turns back to the onboard scrolls. He then returns to making calls and ordering fleet movements around Amity as well as giving the go-ahead for troop withdrawal.

"Vale is lost," he explains, broadcasting on all channels. "I repeat, Vale is lost to the Grimm. There is no need to spend the resources defending a city that has no residents."

"But sir," one soldier calls back, his voice crackling. The sounds of Grimm roaring and gunfire are easily heard in the background, causing General Ironwood to frown. "There are still some, well I'd say noncombatants, but they do have weapons, electing to stay behind."

"Where'd they get them?" General Ironwood asked as he crossed his arms.

The speaker crackled. "Uh, I think they own them. If you'd forgive me, but all of these civilians are gun fanatics. You know… the ones who think we're going to try and take over the world again."

General Ironwood rolled his eyes. "For the love of… Leave them be, Corporal. If they want to stay behind in a war zone, it's their death wish. I want a full pull-out within the next three hours. Leave only dust and oil in your wake, soldier."

"Yes, sir!"

Penny frowned at her superior officer. "Wait, you're just going to leave them behind?"

"I don't have a choice," General Ironwood responded, not bothering to turn to look at her. "Those ignorant gunslingers wouldn't accept our help anyway. And spending the time to try and convince them to leave their homes against their will shall take too much time, as well as unnecessary bloodshed."

"But…" Penny couldn't understand. She was made to protect, she 'joined' the military to protect.

She hasn't been able to protect anyone.

"Is there a problem, Ms. Polendina?" the Atlesian general asked.

Penny shook her head slowly and looked down at her feet. "No… I'm sorry."

Sighing, General Ironwood placed a hand on her shoulder. "Penny… we can't save everyone. I had to learn this lesson a long time ago, and in a less opportune situation, but there will always be those who we cannot keep safe. Sometimes we aren't fast enough… and sometimes there are those who refuse our aid." A shimmer passed over his body and his eyes sharpened. "All we can do is to steel our resolve and spirit, then remember what we do is in the name of the greater good."

"I see," Penny whispered.

The large militarian nodded, content with his address, and turned back to look out the cockpit window. "We'll be landing soon. Be sure to let our passengers know."

"Yes, sir."

True to his word, the bullhead touched down on the grounds of Amity Colosseum within the next few minutes. A ground crew, consisting of a few members of both the Valian and Atlesian military, quickly helped escort the ship's occupants to one of the rooms that was cleared out for hospital personnel.

Penny noticed that Ren was also one of the first few people to greet them. Nora happily jumped into his arms, leaping out of the bullhead practically on sight.

Then she proceeded to kick him in the leg.

"If you ever, ever, leave me again, even if it is an order, I will take my hammer and slam you into the moon!"

Chuckling, Ren could not look more relieved to be in pain. "If I ever leave you, I'll let you rocket me through it."

He then saw, for the first time, the three stretchers carried out of the bullhead. Pyrrha stood at the side of Vin, who's heart rate Penny could tell was so slow, she almost sounded dead. Yang, similarly, continued to hold her sister's hand as she and the two soldiers ran to one of the sickbays. Lastly, Penny helped ensure Weiss' transfer to the ground.

At least, until Winter arrived.

"Sir," she greeted, saluting General Ironwood. Out of the corner of her eye, Winter then noticed her sister and her eyes went wide. Winter's jaw slacked slightly and she turned towards Weiss. But she stopped herself and kept herself frozen in recognition of rank.

Ironwood noticed this and nodded back. "Go. You are relieved, for now, Specialist Schnee."

Not waiting to offer gratitude, Winter quickly rushed over to grab Weiss' hand. She froze, however, when she realized she was reaching for nothing. "Oh, Gods," Winter gasped. She then reached down to stroke Weiss' pale face before looking back up at Penny with a glare that could have killed.

"What happened?"

Nora didn't let go of Ren's arm until the operation was over. By then, dusk had turned to dawn and back to midday. But neither member of team JNPR had moved much since sitting down.

General Ironwood had gone off, working with to help coordinate what remained of Beacon's Huntsmen and Huntresses. Death counts had already come and gone. Mothers and fathers were told only minutes after they themselves found out. Last Nora heard, even with Ren trying to keep her away from these matters, Professor Ozpin was still missing.

Pyrrha had offered to go search for him. However, General Ironwood denied her access to a bullhead, stating they had a good idea where he would be. Pyrrha quickly accepted that answer and returned to her seat in the waiting room (which Nora couldn't help but notice was moved to connect with Jaune's).

Jaune, bless his soul, could not sit still for the life of him. His foot was always tapping or his leg was always shaking. His armored fingers would clink as he tapped his fingers on his gauntlets. Every time a nurse, doctor, or someone even resembling a medical professional exited, he would be on his feet, asking for assurances about their friends.

It was during one of those times, everyone learned that Ruby was in a coma, but otherwise stable.

Nora watched as Yang fell to her knees in that moment, broken by the apparent loss of her sister. They couldn't give a prognosis for when she'd return to the land of the living, but they were confident she might do so within a week.

"What if she doesn't?" Yang asked.

The doctor shook her head. "We cannot say for sure. There's nothing visibly wrong and she's breathing on her own. There is some unusual brainwave activity in her occipital lobe, but nothing that should be damaging. From what we can tell, her mind has simply retreated into itself to heal from some psychological damage. And…" she sighed. "And there are many cases where patients never wake up from these ordeals."

Expecting Yang to go berserk, Nora leaped to her feet and wrapped her arms around the blonde. "I'm so sorry," she whispered. "But Ruby's tough. I'm sure she'll be awake soon, snacking on some cookies and telling us what crazy new way she could upgrade Crescent Rose."

Yang remained frozen. Even as everyone else joined in, forming a large group hug, She made no movement or sound. Hell, it didn't even feel like she was breathing.

"Yang?"

I was supposed to keep hers safe," she whispered. "I'm her big sister. I promised Dad I'd make sure nothing happened to her. And I let him down. I let her down."

Pyrrha grabbed Yang's hand and looked at her in the eye. "Yang, none of this is your fault. This is the act of terrorists and monsters. And you were trying to help out Vin. Ruby chose this life, she chose to protect. You cannot blame yourself for that."

Ripping her arm free from the redhead's grasp, Yang stumbled backward and crashed through a couple of other chairs. Everyone moved to help her up, but Yang batted everyone away, refusing to get off from the ground.

"I'm going to make them pay," she growled. "Every last one of them for what they did to us."

"We're going to make them pay," Nora corrects. She grabs the handle of her hammer and holds it out.

Ren nods in agreement and pushes the end of Magnhild towards the ground. "You have our support, Yang. But as it is, there is nothing we can do."

Coughing, Jaune slowly raised his hand. "Actually, I think we can do something." Everyone's heads snapped towards the leader of team JNPR. "We know that Haven academy let Cinder and her friends in. It's possible they've got someone on the inside there."

"You want us to drop everything and go to Mistral?" Ren asked.

Jaune blushed. "Well, yes? What else is there to do? Go home? Some of us don't have that luxury. Besides, with what Professor Ozpin told Pyrrha, we have a duty to do this. If someone is targeting Maidens and the schools, we need to warn them."

"We already have," a voice interjects. General Ironwood, followed by Penny and a few other military members from both kingdoms, stops in front of the group of un-licensed Huntsmen and Huntresses and stands at attention. "I just got back from a meeting with the councils. Everyone has been warned of the threat placed by the four individuals you each had some form of contact with. All countries' borders will have increased security for the foreseeable future."

"What about everyone who lived in Vale?" Pyrrha asked. "Or the students attending Beacon Academy?"

"They shall be given asylum in Vacuo. At least until they can afford to transfer to other kingdoms willing to take them in. Shade Academy has even offered to take in the students, as long as they are willing to redo all their training and teams," he explained.

"We'd have new teams?" Nora repeated. But I can't switch teams!

Jaune shared her apprehension. "With all due respect, sir," he explained, "I don't think that's going to work with us. We've been through too much and formed our own relationships. It would be stupid to break us up now!"

Raising an eyebrow, General Ironwood gave a quick, dismissive wave to his compatriots. They quickly follow orders and salt before leaving. Penny, however, remained where stood and gave a defiant glare when the general looked back at her.

"Listen," he sighed. "I'm going to talk to you like the adults you are, not the children you should be.

"The remaining three kingdoms are in disarray. This form of brutal attack and warfare has not occurred since events lost in the Great War. Untold lives have been lost and it's likely we might never get around to burying each one with the respect we wish to provide. Also, due to the cyberattack that took control of our Knights, we are shutting down the CCTV. It's simply too much of a risk for it to be spread across all of Remnant.

"Glynda, as well as most of the Beacon staff, have elected to stay behind. They hope to be able, at some point, to restore Vale and Beacon to that it once was. There are already some volunteers and, frankly, fools, opting to stay behind to try and provide assistance. My soldiers are already providing reports of vigilantes on the ground, fighting back Grimm and Knights with weapons they've bought or even found lying about.

"Meanwhile, I've made the decision to pull Atlas out. We'll remain for a few days, a week at most, to help civilians journey to Vacuo and to help negotiate more precise terms of their living with their government when we arrive. However, I have a duty to my own people at this time and I cannot risk letting a similar attack befall upon our lands.

So I've come to offer you a choice," General Ironwood finished. "A choice to decide where you shall go. Ms. Rose will be sent home to Patch, where I'm sure her father will be able to look over her. Ms. Polledina will be with me here for a while, I need her assistance with dealing with the Grimm. The Schnee Dust has… graciously decided to provide a ship that'll take the young heiress and Ms. Venture back to our hospitals in Atlas."

Everyone went silent. How could they be expected to choose which road to walk on? Do they go with Weiss and Vin, and join the Atlas military?

Or what about going someplace new and risking losing each other?

Perhaps they could all stay here in Vale, helping to fight the Grimm.

Or, Nora thinks, we can do what we were taught to do.

Beside her, Ren nodded and grabbed her hand, as if to say, I'm with you.

One by one, everyone came to their own decision. And their choice would define the fate of this world.

Unbeknownst to anyone outside of the most high-leveled officials in the Atlesian government, there would be a second ship following the SDC transporter. It would not be marked on any flight path, and its contents would, on paper, never exist.

By the time it will have landed and unloaded its cargo, it wouldn't even technically exist. Records would state it went down during the initial attack during the events soon to be known as the Fall of Beacon.

However, the truth would be known to barely anyone. A handful of guards and General Ironwood, to name a few. As well as a landowner, who would graciously offer up his home in exchange for a large sum of money. Then he would disappear to a villa away from the events of the coming years.

But one small girl was able to sneak herself aboard said ship. This little girl, with a knack for getting into small spaces and keeping herself hidden even if the world knew her identity, would remain out of sight until the moment she was asked to do so.

Neopolitan smiled as she pulled the vent closed behind her. It was almost too easy to sneak her way onto the bullhead. With every Atlesian guard on the lookout for Grimm or their own metal-men, Neo didn't have to put much effort into forming a new face for her to hide behind.

And, for one such as her, it was a breeze jumping from one ship to another while still in the air. Her parasol, Hush, caught updrafts and almost gave her the sense of flight between the bullheads. And all she had to do to get inside was slip through the rotors and crawl through the duct systems in order to get inside.

Focus, she thought as the bullhead rattled. Neo slowly pulled herself through the tight, metallic vent until she found the opposite end. Through it, she could see a locked door on the opposite side of the walkway. Unlike the others she could see as she looked around, this one had security locks and an armed guard.

Neo decided, in that moment, to wait for now. No need to rush things. He was going anywhere after all. Not with the Atlesian escort surrounding his 'room'. Even if she could somehow take over the life of one of the guards, there was no telling when they'd have the chance to escape.

So she would wait.

And so would Roman Torchwick, who, almost as if he could sense his partner's presence, smiled in his cell.

"It's my turn," he smiled.

And as we begin this year of 2022, it's getting closer and closer to the end of volume three. A lot of talking occurs in this chapter, but I had a lot of fun working on it. Ironwood has an incredibly interesting mindset that I, as a military brat, love to observe and showcase.

Of course, there are a lot of facts about war in this chapter. I want to showcase that there will be losses no matter what. And even if some people are trying to be noble with their own weapons, it might lead to more dangers down the road.

And also the question of who is going where. Don't worry, all of that shall be answered in the season finale next chapter. Yes, you heard that right. After almost a year and a half, we are finally finishing the volume. Yahoo!

Thank you all for sticking with me for so long. I'm incredibly grateful for all the love and support I and this story have received. It really does mean the world to me.

I PM'd a few of you regarding your own reviews. Be sure to check your accounts if you haven't as I love to continue conversations.

We have still been unable to meet our goal of being the number 1 Mistborn Fanfic. First is still being held by Slavok's Beautiful Destroyer with a difference of 133 Favorites (we are in fourth) and 234 Follows (fifth). C'mon guys! We can do it! Spread the word! Spam the 17th shard! It is possible!

(I mean this to be a fun competition, not to slander Slavok.)

Please, feel free to follow and comment on predictions, thoughts, etc. I am always looking for new ways to improve my craft. Tell your friends!

Also, if you have the money, please think about supporting me.

Pa tre on . co m

(slash)

readerwarrior