Chapter 66
(AN: We're nearing the end of Volume 8. Apologies for such a long wait in updates, but I recently got COVID and I got preparations for graduation next semester, so I've been taking up extra work shifts and pulling through on schoolwork to get to graduation without issues. Due to the end of the semester slowly nearing, it's been slowly getting easier to find time to plan out chapters - both present and future - as well as write them with the rest of my beta team.
Also I didn't actually expect to end up getting this far, much less reaching a 400,000 word count for this story, and I sincerely apologize for taking so damn long to get to this point. Hopefully, I'll be able to reach a 500,000 word count with Volume 9 content in this story.)
- POV: Markus -
Atlas would be falling very soon. We could see almost two hundred open portals throughout the central location, all leading to different areas throughout the city. Dozens of them had no activity - likely due to those locations having long since evacuated, or the deaths of everybody there. I pushed aside the thoughts of those who didn't make it, focusing on those that were going to escape to Vacuo.
We were not the first to enter the portal, we would discover. Emerald, Yang, Liya, and I watched as dozens of soldiers had already reached the magical doorway that exited into Vacuo. And more were still pouring through. Easily over a hundred troops had already poured through the portals, alongside several vehicles and a few Paladins. While many troops were in reasonably healthy conditions, the mechs and trucks all seemed to have sustained some degree of damage.
"Liya. Go and stay there. Guard the relic and make sure everyone who gets through is safe," I said, and the Maiden nodded - hurrying down the various ramps and bridges of the central location to get to Vacuo. Yang went along with her while Emerald and I made our way towards the biggest platform in the middle of the entire network. "Everyone, keep pushing! The Grimm won't be able to follow through! Vacuo is just on the other side!"
"We haven't seen the Ace Ops or General Ironwood," one of the soldiers coughed, being held up by a fellow rifleman as they walked by.
"They're on the way," Emerald said before pulling aside a high ranking officer wearing a makeshift sling on his left arm, the young man wearing a field uniform rather than standard issue infantry body armor. "Help everyone move along faster. We don't have much time before these things close."
The man nodded before he turned, beginning to shout. "Anyone who isn't injured should be helping out the wounded! Stay on the edges of the path and don't block the Paladins or the trucks!" he ordered, waving his hand to several other soldiers down the line.
"Markus!"
My caracal ears perked and I quickly turned to see General Ironwood and the Ace-Ops making their way down a path alongside a few soldiers, followed by Qrow and Oscar. Winter was close behind, helping a soldier walk. I hurried up to greet the small group at once. "Hey, are you all alright?" I quickly asked, relieved beyond belief that they were alright.
"We're all okay. The Ace Ops sustained some injuries, but they'll survive. However I can't have them in combat any longer, so I'm sending them to Vacuo first," General Ironwood said, taking the time to fully acknowledge the scene around him. "Looks like the evacuation will be going smoothly."
"We're just waiting on RWBY and the others," I said. "Liya and Yang are already in Vacuo. She won't be at risk of getting killed if Cinder comes through."
"Last I checked, Weiss and Penny are still holding her off," Emerald chimed in as she approached. "Same with Team CRDL."
"Weiss is fighting that monster?" Winter asked, nearly dropping the injured soldier before tightening her grip. Qrow quickly saw to the assistance of the wounded man, allowing Winter to almost drop him so she could look back at me. "Where?"
"Atlas Academy," I said before quickly taking a look around. The entire central location felt like a maze, and with so many portals having soldiers and vehicles pouring out, it made tracking down any specific entry points just by looking at them impossible. "I don't know where that is."
I would be proven wrong seconds later.
Weiss screamed as she flew through one of the portals, alongside a few soldiers and a blast of shrapnel from the doorway of pure light. The former heiress of the Schnee Dust Company slammed into a vehicle before collapsing in a heap. "Weiss!" Winter cried, her voice cracking upon seeing the sorry state her sister was in.
Team CRDL came running out next, avoiding a blast of fire mere meters behind them. Dove and Cardin were holding assault rifles, running before stopping and turning to fire back. Russel and Sky rushed over to pull the injured snow girl away from the portal as another scream filled the air: this one more agonizing and just as familiar. Cinder had flown through the doorway, before dropping the second her Grimm hand began hissing and crumbling before her eyes, the agony being simply too much to bear.
"Aura can't protect your arm. It's Grimm."
Raven's words from Volume 5 flowed unconsciously through my thoughts, and I grit my teeth. This would likely be our best, if not only, opportunity to take her down. I jumped in the air, Dust forming around my boots to keep my body airborne. "Now, before she recovers!" I yelled.
"Markus! Throw me now!" General Ironwood called out. I didn't need to be told twice, and I acted. Swinging around, a tendril of Dust wrapped around the Atlesian general's waist before throwing him up into the air, on a aimed trajectory arcing right towards the struggling Fall maiden.
The impact was incredibly satisfying, with the general clasping both his fists into a hammer-like blow that slammed into Cinder's head with a clearly heard "THWACK". As Cinder's body slammed into the ground, Ironwood landed a few feet away, ready to swing once more.
A wall of fire threw him off his feet, swept down the path as Cinder recovered from the blow much quicker than anticipated. As the crazed woman got up, she snarled - eyes just as crazed and flaming with the magical power she wielded, trickles of blood flowing from her head and threatening to blind her. I brought up my Dust in a shield to block the pure beam of fire she shot at me before I quickly shot to my left.
To my peripherals, I could see Emerald running down the path to join me, while Winter had jumped in the air on a summoned Manticore, moving to attack Cinder. As I landed on the path near the general, I saw the boys carrying Weiss nearing us. "Keep moving to the last portal," I heard the general say as he got up. "Vacuo is on the other side."
"What about you?" Cardin asked.
"We'll be fine, worry about everyone else here! As long as Cinder's occupied then we have a chance!" I said as I gripped his shoulder. "Our only focus is evacuating. We don't plan on staying long. Make sure Weiss is safe."
"Alright! You too!" Russel called as he and Sky continued to escape with Weiss.
"We'll keep helping the soldiers get through. Penny hasn't come through yet, but she looked like she was in trouble the last time we saw her. She's still by the academy," Cardin said, pointing at the portal they'd come from. "Dove, you and I will find anyone who can't move and get them across!"
"Got it!" Dove called, firing a few more shots at Cinder before hurrying off.
"Stay safe," I said, gripping Cardin's arm. The orange haired huntsman nodded before hurrying off. "Think the other kingdom will be fine?" I asked as the others made a frantic retreat. Emerald hurried over with her weapons drawn, looking up at the Fall Maiden nervously.
"The entire Atlesian fleet will be around to protect it. And Vacuo has the most huntsmen out of any kingdom on Remnant. I trust that they'll be fine," the general said. "We need to focus on subduing her before-"
A loud roar filled the air, and the three of us quickly turned to see Qrow and Oscar fending off a newly arrived Hazel and what looked to be Jackie. She looked like one of those Grimm knights, but without the helmet. Her eyes were pitch black and she somewhat resembled Salem with her pale skin and a few red veins on her face.
Hazel looked like he was fine, but Jackie's entire body was smoking under that armor, with wisps of thin black mist escaping her like a fire. She wasn't fully Grimm - but the rules Ambrosius had put in place seemed to be eating away at her. "Great," I muttered. If there was one thing I'd hoped that would stay the same with this volume, it would've been Hazel siding against Salem, taking out two of our worst enemies. For the time being at least, in Salem's case.
Unfortunately Oscar had never had the chance to change his mind, not that I'd really wanted him to be captured again. Nor had Emerald been then for Hazel to watch over, so he had no one to show him how working for Salem was doing the exact thing that he always accused Ozpin of. The hypocrite.
I shook my head. Hazel hadn't had the chance to really understand what he was doing. But it was too late to get him to look past his grief, even with Salem out of the picture for now. Besides, I couldn't focus on Hazel right now, not when Cinder was raging as much as she was, and with Jackie essentially being Hazel's female equivalent in bullshit power, we were undoubtedly in for a rough time.
"Leave Qrow and Ozpin to deal with those two! We need to focus on the maiden or everyone here is dead!" Ironwood ordered before he bolted towards Cinder, firing beam blasts out of his hand at the Fall Maiden. Cinder let out a guttural scream as she dodged a few blasts, swinging wave after wave of fire at the general.
The general was no slouch in speed either as he jumped, ducked, or rolled to the side with every attack that came his way.
I wasn't about to stand by either, turning to Emerald. "Ignore her. Help the other soldiers to Vacuo and leave her to us," I quickly said.
"But-" Emerald began before I quickly planted a kiss on her cheek. I had to ignore her conflicted and clearly fearful expression, pushing as much focus on the task at hand.
"Go, please," I whispered before leaping off of the railing of the path before propelling myself to the other side to get on Cinder's flank. Hopefully I could sneak past her towards the academy-
I lost the element of surprise seconds later, with Cinder forming spears of molten and shaped glass out of thin air, sending them flying in all directions with no discrimination in her attack. I was forced to dodge and weave, pushed away as Ironwood ducked behind an armored vehicle. Spears buried themselves in the ground of the path, glowing before a loud hissing sound was heard.
"Cover!" I heard the general yell before explosions tore through the path. It wasn't destroyed, but the sight of mangled bodies flying over and into the void below made my heart skip a beat. Gunfire filled the air, and another explosion sent a smoldering vehicle toppling over the edge, disappearing far below with a shimmer of golden light.
I pulled myself out of my shell shocked stupor and quickly flew back up to the bridge, just in time to see Cinder swinging at General Ironwood. Without much thought, I flew right into her midsection, head slamming into her gut as the two of us spiraled through the open air.
"Markus!" I heard someone yell. Before I could look to see who called my name, I received an elbow to the head. My aura took the brunt of the hit, but I was still stunned regardless - enough to be shoved off of Cinder with an angered snarl.
"Mongrel!" she snapped as she drew a bow and five arrows at once, aiming and firing them at me over the course of one second. With a swipe of the arm, I sent all five of them flying and spinning elsewhere as a wide wave of Dust slammed into them mere millimeters away from piercing me.
Quickly pushing myself up with Dust, I leapt over the railing of the nearest path and landed before turning around, trying to get a proper understanding of the situation. More soldiers continued to pour through the gateways, with several firing in the air and pinning Cinder from making any attacks. While she was forced to focus entirely on defending herself, none of the soldiers were able to actually land any hits on her - relying almost entirely on assault rifles and a handful of railguns that Cinder kept evading.
"Markus!" I heard. Turning to a portal nearby, I saw JNPR hurrying through, alongside Biscuit, Blake, and several soldiers carrying stretchers. I leapt over the railing of the other side of my path before lunging forwards, climbing over and tackling Jaune in a hug.
"You're okay!" I gasped, realizing just how panicked I'd been over fighting that I'd actually forgotten to check if everyone was okay. "You're okay!"
"We're alive, but Ruby's injured!" Pyrrha said as Jaune and I separated. Turning around, I could see one of the stretchers being carried had an unconscious Ruby, treated with bandages and an IV bag.
"What happened?" I asked, my heart sinking into my stomach. The silver eyed girl didn't seem like she'd be able to wake up anytime soon.
"Watts and a Paladin happened. We buried him in an airstrike," Blake coughed as Biscuit came over. I knelt to stroke his ears affectionately for a few seconds before pointing at the end portal. "N-no! We can still fight!" she protested.
"She's right," Nora said as she gripped Magnhild. "You need everyone you got to take those guys down."
"No. We drag things out too long then there's a chance Cinder will fly to Vacuo and take both Liya and the staff," I said. "We need to clear this area as quickly as we can," I said before an explosion blasted near us.
"Continue suppressing her! Staggering retreat, cover each other and keep moving!" General Ironwood yelled, firing Due Process relentlessly at the Fall Maiden. Despite being under heavy fire from literal dozens of troops, truck mounted machine guns, and the general himself, she didn't seem to care. The firestorm swirling around her was blocking bullets as she dodged railguns and sent off fireballs of her own.
This was the true potential of magic, I couldn't help but numbly realize. The sneer raw power to do as you pleased. One maiden was enough to halt the power of a kingdom, the strongest kingdom on Remnant, nonetheless.
I was fairly sure that if anyone had any reservations about preventing Cinder from gaining the power of another maiden, they were definitely gone.
The portal nearest to the raging Cinder was the one leading to Atlas Academy, where Weiss had been thrown through. Winter was making her way back to the battle as the other soldiers and Emerald finally brought Weiss through to Vacuo while Hazel and Jackie were effectively being pinned by Ozpin and Qrow - though they were starting to push through with their raw power.
Speaking of Jackie, the woman locked eyes with me from afar - the smoking woman snarling as she lunged towards Ozpin, who barely had enough energy to push her back. "YOU!" she roared, and I knew that she was going to be going after me.
"Get Ruby to Vacuo and get to Liya and Yang! Make sure they're at a safe location away from the portal! Go!" I yelled as I leapt into the air, not waiting for them to reply. Quickly dashing towards the path where General Ironwood was firing from, I landed near him and drew Wilt. "General, everything okay?" I quickly asked.
"The evacuation is going well, all things considered," Ironwood replied as he swatted aside a fireball with his arm, aura flickering as it dispersed and heavily singed his coat.
"I don't know how long she'll be pinned, but we need to get everyone. Teams RWBY and JNPR are accounted for, but Penny hasn't come through yet. What about the other teams?" I asked.
"All other students and huntsmen have crossed over to Vacuo. All that's left is what remains of the Atlesian Military," the general explained before a devastatingly loud crashing sound was heard. I turned quickly to see a truck being overturned, alongside several soldiers fighting and getting beaten down by Jackie - who was rushing down the path towards me. Two soldiers hanging onto her back stabbed at her with their swords before getting grabbed and hurled ahead, tumbling to the path.
"She's after me. I can get her to focus on me and avoid everyone else," I quickly said, my neural Dust forming shields on my arms in preparation for the absolute beating that was coming my way.
"Go. We can keep Cinder busy. Get this monster out of this area," General Ironwood said as he swiftly reloaded his revolver and continued firing on Cinder. "And stay safe."
"Yes, general," I said before leaping into the air. Jackie followed, ignoring the two soldiers she'd thrown and the general, jumping over them as I shot through the portal to Atlas Academy. Once more, I was struck by light before being treated to the heavily damaged view of Atlas Academy, as well as the utterly devastated city around the huntsman school.
The school was wiped out. The results of Cinder's fight against Weiss and Penny before the portals were opened were clear to see, with almost the entirety of the school a mix between frozen and molten. There were no more Grimm and no more soldiers, leaving the few survivors and bodies around us.
I wasn't able to get a good look to search for Penny, not when Jackie stepped through the portal. "You and I...have a score to settle," she snarled.
I winced at the mess she was, covered in blood as Grimm mist continued to rise from her body. She was looking very angry and willing to fight, but she also looked tired, and so was I. "It's over," I managed to get out. I was too damn exhausted to entertain another battle, and it was clear that the bandit leader had a grudge against me for dragging her tribe into Salem's grasp.
Not that it was even my fault to begin with.
"It's not over until you pay for what you've done. You and that damn girlfriend of yours!" Jackie growled as she stepped forward, the tall woman clenching her fists as she did so. "She only got us because she was after you!"
"You went after us!" I shouted back. "You ambushed us, tried to make us a part of you! You got yourselves involved when your people thought to rob us!"
"Shut up!" Jackie snapped before wrenching a rail from the nearby stairs out of the ground, gripping it like a staff as she approached. "You're not leaving this damn rock alive!"
I knew Atlas was going to fall soon, and all I could think about was the fact that time was running out for everything. "There's no time! Look, if you surrender, we can make sure you live through all of this! We can help you-" I tried to say.
"There's no point! Not without the rest of my tribe! My family! I'm fighting you so they can be free, and if I end up like this in order to kill you..." Jackie glanced down at her own body, her face contorted in a mix of rage and disgust before she looked back at him. "Then it'll be worth it..."
Unfortunately, I knew that there was no saving her tribe, not after what I'd seen. Then I realized that we were still outside Atlas Academy, and I quickly looked around. Sure enough, the bodies of more of those Grimm knights lay about, alongside the corpses of Atlesian soldiers.
Nearby, Stella sat near lifelessly against a piece of wall, staring blankly at the ground. I winced, not expecting to see such life taken out of her eyes. Jackie had followed my gaze and noticed the woman as well. "...Stella?" she whispered.
The woman didn't respond, and the bandit leader immediately dropped any pretense of combat as she rushed over, kneeling and gripping the woman's shoulders. "Stella! Stella, I'm here!"
The woman feebly looked up, her hands shaking as she took in Jackie's appearance. "What...no..." she whispered. "They did this to you too?"
"Stella. Where are the others?" Jackie demanded. I couldn't do anything other than watch, shaken by what I was seeing.
The bandit looked down to the body of the Grimm knight near her, and Jackie looked down as well. "No...no, she did this..."
"Salem...really screwed us..." Stella mumbled, detached. "There were a few others, but they're all dead. I think...I think it's just the two of us left..."
Jackie slumped, hands loosening from Stella's shoulders. Any will to fight had clearly deflated out of her, and I wasn't sure what to believe. On one hand, they were cruel bandits - people who attacked others to make their living. The group had attacked and captured me and Emerald, forcing us to fight for the same convoluted idea of 'might means right' that Raven Branwen believed.
On the other hand...it felt like none of that mattered. Compared to the fall of Atlas, Salem's arrival, the sheer devastation caused in the battle, and everything that was to come in the future, Jackie and Stella felt inconsequential. The entire tribe had been used by Salem and discarded as cannon fodder, and that was a sad fate.
There was no need for these two to go through the same thing.
I looked around, getting a much clearer look around us. A handful of abandoned Manta dropships sat on the broken concrete, and I hurried over to Jackie and Stella. "Can you fly?" I asked.
"What?" Jackie snapped, understandably confused. Her arms had moved halfway around the despondent Stella, almost in a protective hug.
"You went to Beacon, right? Can you fly a Manta?" I asked.
"Why do you care?" Jackie asked.
"Because you need to leave," I said. "Those dropships work fine. You could come with us to Vacuo, but I don't think you wanna surrender. Take her and fly off. Somewhere you can avoid the rest of this damn war."
"What are you even doing?! What's your angle?!" the leader of the former bandit tribe snapped.
"Dammit, I'm not responsible for any of this! It isn't my fault all this happened...but I feel like it's my fault," I muttered. It was a stupid feeling, but guilt came really easily. "You need to be free of this. You can't...I can't..."
Jackie quietly stared at me, searching my face for something. I wasn't quite sure. But miraculously she didn't push it, seeming to accept my actions as genuine, or at least logical. She gathered Stella into her arms, in a bridal style, before standing up silently. It was only then that I realized that Atlas was almost completely silent. All I could hear was the sounds of the crumbing academy, as well as a handful of crashing buildings far in the distance. There was no sound of any Grimm, nor any combat. Not a single airship was in the skies - having fled for Vacuo long ago.
"We will meet again," Jackie muttered as she walked by. "And we will settle this."
"Sure," I said, looking down at the body of another Grimm knight. The blank eyes of a transformed Grimm woman stared back lifelessly. There was no thanks between Jackie and I. Hate flowed between us, but it was a hate that could be held off in the face of tragedy.
As the sound of a ship's engines warming up was heard, I looked around to see the broken school and city surrounding me. As the Manta took off and shot away, I began to search around, trying to find one person in particular. "Penny?" I called. "Penny, you there?!"
"M-Maaaarkuzzz..."
I flinched and whirled around, trying to find the source of that voice. She sounded broken and glitching, but close. "Penny?! Penny!" I called, more and more desperate to find her. Fear was seeping into my gut as the thought of losing Penny this time around began to sink in.
"H-he-re!" At the sound of the much clearer voice, my ears twitched once and I turned once more to see a shallow crater in the ground, splattered with green fluid along its edges. Rushing over, I saw who lay within and winced.
Penny was inside, leg snapped and sparking. Her arm was bent in an awkward position, and her Floating Array lay or was stabbed haphazardly in the ground. Her left eye was completely gone along with a sizable amount of skin around face and throat, most of her dress was equally burnt off, revealing more charred artificial skin and metal workings inside. "Mar-kusssss..." she whispered.
I rushed down the crater, looking her over frantically. "I need to get you out of here..." I said. "God...this went so wrong..."
"MaRkkus, it'ssss okay..." Penny croaked, and I realized that I recognized that tone. The same tone she had when she had Jaune kill her. "The o-o-otttthers are sssafe...there's n-n-no need to-"
"There is! We need you! Liya needs you! Your dad needs you! Don't say it's okay!" I cried as I fought to keep myself composed. I felt tears welling up, and I gathered up all my determination to bring her back alive. Snatching Floating Array with my neural Dust, as well as gathering as many parts of her as I could find, no matter how small. I then picked up Penny myself, oblivious to the weight as I felt the thick green sludge that was her lifeblood pressing on my back.
"P-p-ppplease..." Penny whispered, too weak to resist. Despite her ruined appearance, all I could see was her sorrow. I could tell she was frightened of death, but she seemed to have already given up.
I refused to let that happen.
She was heavy, my body swiftly reminded me of that fact. Even with the Dust helping me out. It didn't help that I was frankly exhausted from the earlier fights, but that didn't matter. My aura was still up, and I still had a chance to escape. Despite the weight and the fact I was holding everything that belonged to the android girl, I pushed on. As long as I had my aura up, my body would heal. And if my aura ran out, I'd carry on until my body broke. I would not let her die.
The trip to the portal was short, crossing it not a challenge in any way. Almost everyone inside was gone save for wrecked vehicles and a few bodies - having cleared the long and treacherous path to Vacuo. Near the end of the massive central location was a large group of the Atlas Military, firing everything they had at Cinder just to keep her from pushing through to Vacuo. Qrow and Winter were nearby, helping Ozpin in fighting off Hazel.
"There!" I could barely hear the general shout from the front of the defensive line. I put two and two together almost immediately - they were waiting for me. Emerald was firing as well, having stopped when she spotted me. I didn't spot anyone else recognizable, meaning that teams RWBY, JNPR, and CRDL had all made it across safely. Liya was nowhere to be seen as well, likely still guarding the relic with the protection of almost everyone on the other side of that portal.
I didn't waste any more time, pushing as much power into my neural Dust as I could before shooting across the massive space, over the various paths and empty space underneath. Explosions and gunfire rang overhead as I flew low, underneath the arching paths as a massive heat wave from Cinder struck me in the back.
"Sssshe's com-m-ming after ussss!" Penny gasped as she looked over my shoulder. I was barely able to turn back before several spears of flame and glass shot towards us. Veering left, I managed to stop right underneath one of the many golden roads. Explosions and the sounds of shattering glass erupted around us as the spears struck the makeshift shield above us.
"Dammit..." I grumbled. Up ahead was the portal to Vacuo, and there was still too much gunfire pouring from the blockade ahead. If I flew over to escape, then the soldiers would need to hold their fire, leaving Cinder open to unleash as much devastation as she wished.
"You're mine!"
I yelped, having to abandon my planning just to avoid the swing of a comically large sword of bright fire from bisecting me. Penny let out a yelp, and I tightened my hold on her. Swinging the neural Dust holding her parts and swords, I flung them over the path, releasing them and letting the leg and swords tumble and scatter towards the Atlesian soldiers. "Get them to Doctor Polendina!" I yelled as I shot away from another sword swing. Despite how large and heavy the sword looked, Cinder was swinging it incredibly quickly - especially for only having one hand available.
"Markus!" Emerald yelled as she hurried over. Nearby, some of the soldiers grabbed the swords and the severed mechanical leg before hurrying through the portal to Vacuo.
"Withdraw! Withdraw now!" General Ironwood ordered as he joined Emerald in catching up to me, firing down at Cinder through the gaps between the paths. Nearby, the vehicles and the other soldiers began to pull back - firing at Cinder whenever they could and retreating through the portal.
"Cinder, we have to leave!" Hazel growled as he threw Winter into Qrow, sending the two tumbling down the path as Ozpin ducked. Sliding under the two flying bodies, the reincarnated headmaster slashed his cane - a loud bone splitting crack filling the air as the worn down and clearly disadvantageous Hazel stumbled back, his aura crackling as what little remained was drained down to mere fumes and the dust crystals in his arms refusing to spark to life. Judging by his defensive stature, he had run out of dust to use long ago, only carrying on the fight through sheer willpower and spite.
"Not until he dies!" Cinder roared, swinging violently once more. I was barely able to bring my legs up, saving myself from getting them severed below the knees. I had a feeling that any magic the Fall Maiden used would have merely cut my aura apart with ease.
I couldn't fight, not while saving Penny. I had to make a choice. One that wasn't that hard to make...
"Emerald! Catch her!" I yelled, mentally apologizing to both girls for what I was about to do as I immediately spun around, flinging Penny's damaged body high into the air. The android yelped in surprise before two chains shot out and ensnared her - one around her good leg and another around her torso.
Emerald growled as she tried to reel her in, her feet sliding towards the edge of the path before they were caught against the railing. The general was quick to the rescue, however - lunging forward and grabbing both chains before heaving and pulling up.
With my hands free, I could focus on pushing Cinder back: the same way Ozpin had pushed Hazel back almost halfway across the central location. Summoning as many tentacles of neural Dust as I could will, I sent them all flying at Cinder from as many directions as possible. I didn't need to beat her - I didn't delude myself into thinking I could. All I needed to focus on was keeping our little Fall Maiden occupied.
Thankfully, it didn't take long for General Ironwood to yank Penny into his arms, turning around and running for the portal. Emerald retracted her weapons and put them away before yelling up. "Let's go!" she called.
Turning around, I noticed Ozpin and Hazel having stopped fighting. The two of them were now splitting up, with Hazel disappearing into the nearest back into Atlas while Ozpin dashed through the roads, closing the distance towards the portal to Vacuo with ease. The message was clear - it was time to leave.
With all my might, I yelled and slammed all of my Dust into Cinder, sending her flying high into the air as far away as possible. Unfortunately, that final attack had included the Dust keeping me in the air - so I was sent tumbling into a free fall. It was nerve-racking, the threat of falling ever present even as I made sure I was above the path.
The impact was hard enough to crack my aura - and it hurt. I tried my best to push through, throwing myself up just as fast as I landed. Even so, a groan escaped my lips as I stumbled to my feet, barely able to process Emerald rushing back and grabbing me by the arms and dragging me along with her. "We gotta get out of here!" she gasped, clearly tired as we ran and stumbled our way towards Vacuo. Up ahead was the general, following the last few soldiers into the portal towards safety.
He turned around, and the last thing any of us saw was the panicked expression on his face. His mouth moved, likely to shout a warning before both Emerald and I were struck by a literal beam of fire. Searing pain blasted throughout my back, and I could barely scream in pain before the force of the attack pushed us violently against the floor.
We slammed into the ground, our auras drained and bodies singed from the attack. Crashing on my back, I could see Cinder approaching at incredibly fast speeds. I hissed, gritting my teeth as I realized what was likely to come. She was going to finish us off right then and there. Right before we made it to Vacuo.
My eyes flickered to Emerald, seeing her unmoving form right next to me, unconscious. Her face was contorted in pain, and I could barely smell the nasty stench of burning skin. The back of her jacket was violently singed, and I had a feeling mine was as well. I could barely move, my entire body screaming in pure agony.
I growled at myself for such a stupid mistake. Turning my back to the enemy - especially one as volatile as Cinder, was a stupid and easily avoidable mistake. There was no moving for either of us now, especially with our poor state. Before I could think of anything else, I noticed something off. She wasn't looking at us. Her eyes were focused on something else behind us.
My own eyes widened at once as I realized that she was making a break for the last kingdom. "C-close the portal!" I managed to yell.
I was prepared for this, expected this outcome even. If Cinder made it through, it was practically over. She would unleash a storm or something - likely cause an immense amount of death before she too was taken down. Cinder didn't act like it, but there was no way she could go on any longer either. The trickle of blood from before was a full fountain now, blood gushing down her face, only adding to her demonic visage. She was tired and out of aura. While she still had her magic, now all it would take was one slip up, one mistake, and she'd be dead.
It was still too much of a risk to take.
I didn't know if anyone had heard my shout. All I knew was that what happened next was far too fast to process. The ground disappeared beneath us, and Emerald and I were soon plummeting through the air. The paths above us were disappearing, including the massive doorway leading to Vacuo. My hands gripped Emerald's tightly, dragging her close so I could wrap myself tightly around her as we fell, and the last thing I noticed was the sight of a flame shooting towards one of the remaining portals, alongside an incredibly frustrated scream in the distance.
So she hadn't made it to Vacuo...
That was good to know.
My vision and my thoughts disappeared into gold shimmers as Emerald and I were dissolved into the void, transported away from the central location as it slowly faded out of existence.
Outside the portal, the kingdom of Atlas was falling. Building parts were lifted from the massive island as it plummeted towards what remained of Mantle. Cinder growled as the Manta dropship flew away from the crumbling kingdom, Hazel in the cockpit as he piloted the ship away from the doomed kingdom. "Salem will be back soon. We must inform her of our failure..." the giant said.
"I know!" Cinder snapped, her flames bursting around her before sighing, snuffing the fires out in an instant. "Watts hasn't reported in."
"He's likely dead," Hazel rumbled, and Cinder's heart sank - her last chance of pointing the blame to someone else now gone. Clenching her fist, Cinder let out a hissing growl at the feeling of her Grimm hand - which was slowly regenerating after it had disintegrated the second she'd entered the area the portals led to.
Cinder gritted her teeth. This was not her fault! It was because the boy had planned for every move! It was because of him that Atlas was ready to sacrifice everything to stop Salem! She would not take the blame for this... He was dead now
"What of the boy?" Hazel asked.
Cinder sighed as she leaned back in the Manta. "He's gone. And so is my treacherous former disciple," she said. "Both of them were too injured to move. They fell to their deaths when the portals and roads began to disappear..."
There was complete silence between the two for a moment. Nearby, the kingdom of Atlas slammed into the crater below - utterly destroying Mantle around it as the shockwave blasted throughout the area. The sound struck them a few seconds later, and the Manta jostled for a moment. Smoke and dust billowed around on a massive scale. The ice cracked around the kingdom for miles to come, and the ice caps crumbled around them. Huge chunks of Atlas fell off, revealing inner rock and the internal underground buildings within.
Then came the explosion. Tons of unrefined and volatile Dust carefully stored in key locations around Atlas detonated. The explosion was massive, though not as loud or powerful as the kingdom's crashing. Cinder and Hazel watched as the rock blasted apart, colorful explosions completely devastating everything above and within Atlas. The chunks of landed rock began to sink as water shot up around them, with the glacial lake broken loose and flooding the remains of Atlas.
Water swept the kingdom like a cleansing wave, the force tearing up what few buildings remained, as well as completely crushing everything it washed over. Smoke and fire were instantly doused as the crater and everything in it was flooded to oblivion. Despite the destruction of the strongest kingdom on Remnant, Cinder felt no satisfaction. She felt no right to be satisfied.
Salem would only be focused on her failure when she came back. Clenching her monstrous and skeletal Grimm hand, she closed her eyes and waited for the inevitable punishment to come.
- minutes later: in the kingdom of Vacuo -
Liya slumped on her knees, surrounded by everyone else. Ambrosius had disappeared into the Staff of Creation, his blue mist vanishing inside the crystal of the relic. General Ironwood lowered the item and sighed.
"I'm sorry," he whispered. "I had to do it. Cinder would have made it through if I didn't and..."
Liya didn't need any more explanation. She, a heavily damaged Penny, teams RWBY, JNPR, CRDL, the Ace Ops, Qrow, Winter, Ozpin, and hundreds of Atlesian soldiers and students were crowded in the city square of Vacuo. Around them were citizens of Vacuo, all of whom would have been at risk with the indiscriminate attacks of a Maiden's powers.
It was the best decision. They couldn't risk fighting anymore. And yet…
It still didn't help matters. "They're gone," the Winter Maiden whispered hoarsely.
Silence was all that followed, shrouded by the sounds of the kingdom's desert winds. Nobody dared move her. The soldiers began to scatter under orders of the general, and the other teams were taken aside by medics to be checked over - despite most not wanting such checkups, still high-strung and expecting more action. Yang approached Liya, sitting next to her as the city began to bustle around them.
The two sat in silence for a while. Teams JNPR and CRDL checked up on them before being called elsewhere. Penny was taken away towards Maria and her father to be repaired, and Ruby had been taken to a nearby hospital, as did Oscar - with Ozpin's fight having pushed his body well past its limits. Qrow, Winter, the Ace Ops, and General Ironwood headed for Shade Academy to speak to the headmaster - both relics in tow.
"They'll be alright," the blonde said, a clearly forced optimistic smile on her face. "We're talking about Markus here. Plus, we fell through the last time around, so things have to be alright."
Liya scoffed. "Pulling the main character syndrome?" she asked before sighing. "I know they'll be alright. I'm just worried...for what they'll face."
"They'll get past it. Emerald...well, she fought with us for a while. And Markus is a thing with her, so..." Yang sighed. "They'll come back. And we can face Salem together with all of Vacuo and Atlas."
Liya rubbed her eyes. "Assuming things here won't start spawning more problems," she said.
"Liya!"
The two girls turned to see Reese approaching on her hoverboard - weaving through the area before jumping off and sliding to a stop near them. "Long time no see! So you all finally made it!" she said, a beaming grin on her face.
"Yeah. Finally..." Yang muttered semi-enthusiastically as she spat out and wiped her face clear of the large amount of dust kicked up by Reese's sudden halt. "It wasn't easy."
"At least everyone from Atlas is around too," Reese said, her response seeming clipped to Yang. "Hey, where's Markus? I need to ask him something, specifically bout this cute deer girl that says she knows him!"
Silence. Reese's grin died at once upon seeing Yang and Liya's morose expressions. Looking around, she saw many of those soldiers from Atlas in an equally sour mood.
That didn't bode very well for the skater.
"Hey...where's Markus?"