Volume 3, Chapter 27:

In the cloudy skies, soon becoming dark by the energy of Salem's powers consuming it, a Manta ship flies solo in these skies as the roof of it opens to reveal the pilot being May Marigold followed by the Winter Maiden, Penny Polendina. May nodded at Penny and gave her the go ahead signal as Penny nodded in return with a soft smile then flies off to the skies and towards the Amity Communications Tower while May closes the roof and proceeds to fly to her next destination.

In the north part of Mantle, Dalek Khan watched on as he saw the faint green light going much further up the skies and knowing that was his android friend heading up to continue the objective. Meanwhile, he is going through the city for any signs of people and Cybermen after hearing the reports that the Steel Warriors were attacking around here. It was unfortunate that it has already happened with multiple buildings and houses destroyed, burning, by them.

The Dalek stopped when he detected something getting close as he prepares his newly minigun for multiple Cybermen fatalities until he saw a Cyberman head roll onto the ground from an alleyway. The Dalek still continued to target whatever destroyed that Cyberman and was making its way towards him until more Cybermen parts came rolling down from that same alleyway as a tall, armored figure creeped out from the shadows. The figure noticed Dalek Khan as well as none of them made a move but stood their surprised at each other's presence.

Dalek Khan: An Ice Warrior!

Shalka: A Dalek!

Marching was heard coming down from a few streets ahead as a group of Cybermen detected the two lone alien species and activated their weapons to attack as Dalek Khan and Shalka looked at each another then nodded in agreement as they stood side by side with their weapons ready as well for an oncoming battle.

Cybermen: Alien life detected! You will state your identity!

Dalek Khan: I am Dalek Khan!

Shalka: I am the Ice Warrior known as Shalka!

Cybermen: You two shall surrender or suffer deletion by the Cybermen!

Dalek Khan: We can destroy the Cybermen with one Dalek and one Ice Warrior.

Cybermen: Your logic is irrelevant. You will be deleted! DELETE! DELETE!

Shalka: Then I guess it's time we find out who's right.

Both opposing sides made their charge towards each other as a battle begun on a already destroyed part of Mantle. Inside the TARDIS, it was very quiet as The Doctor continued to patch up Nora while Ruby, Weiss, and Blake looked at the other side to see something very horrifying and concerning.

The Doctor: There's a chance that these scars will be permanent from now on. I was able to patch her up and apply medication to ease the pain but I'll need to do more at the mansion to complete the procedure.

Weiss: Doctor...what is that exactly?

The Doctor: *looks at it then at the girls* It's a bomb.

Their fears were confirmed to be true as they looked at the bomb right close to them with the symbol of Atlas military which the girls figured out he stole it which explained why he was there. The question now was, why was he carrying it?

The Doctor: Don't worry, it's deactivated and I made some adjustments to it as well.

Blake: How did you even get this?

Ruby: And why?

The Doctor: *sighs softly and taps the screen displaying the Cyber Monstra* It's the only way to defeat it, the Cyber Grimm, Grimm, and Cybermen.

Weiss: And Salem?

The Doctor: While she can't be killed, her body will take a long process to regenerate.

Weiss: You're not one for war nor weapons!

The Doctor: And I still stand by that statement. However, nothing else will destroy the Monstra except for this. Had it been a normal Monstra Grimm, simply destroying Salem would kill it but because it's half Cybernetic, none of Atlas "finest" military will stop it. It'll only expand the slaughter even more.

Ruby: That explains the why. But we still want to know the how?

The Doctor: I've been transporting evacuees from here to all around Remnant. As I transported each group of people, I told them to spread the message and let all of Remnant know what's going on. Not to mention, a bit of help from the head of UNIT has reached out to other kingdoms and one of them responded back with a clear message for me. That Ironwood had developed a bomb that would kill the Monstra but affect Atlas wherever the creature lands. I made a few adjustments for the explosion to go through the creature but not big to destroy parts of Atlas.

Weiss: My mom has been helping you and communicating with other kingdoms? That's...even better. W-Wait, did she tell you who knew about the bomb to tell you about it?

The Doctor: Yes...and you'll be very surprised...

The three girls looked at each other not knowing where to be positive about this or even more concerned while the Doctor had to take another breather before revealing to Team RWB about who reported the bomb to him.

The Doctor: The Summer Maiden.

Their eyes expanded out like discs at the revelation of the Summer Maiden being out there and she was the one who knew about the bomb to alert the Doctor. The question in their heads were now who was the Summer Maiden exactly?

The Doctor: When she gave me the report, she helped me in pinning the current location of it which was underground of Atlas Academy. I was able to get there, deactivate it, bring it in the TARDIS, and make me leave until she detected you guys were there too.

Blake: Which explains your sudden appearance. Wait, do they know that YOU stole their bomb.

The Doctor: At the moment no. Won't be long til they do. The message is being passed around but it's not enough. We need a clear, loud voice that could pass the message all around Remnant at once. The sooner we can pass the message, the quicker everyone will know. And right now what matters most is getting those people evacuated and the message needs to be heard.

Ruby: I'll do it. *Steps forward* This has been our fight and we have been lectured, trained, and preparing since Day 1. It's nothing to look forward to nor a good thing but what does need to happen is getting the people of Mantle to safety, and letting the world know about Salem and the war that is coming.

Blake: And that's where Penny comes in. She's heading up to Amity Communications to make sure Ruby's message will go through.

The Doctor: It's been difficult but we are coming together and making this work as needed.

Ruby: But...*rubs my arm* It hasn't felt like it. Nora's severely hurt, Yang and the others are still out there with no response from them, people out there are barely holding on as all of this is happening.

The Doctor: And that's where we need to realize that we don't plan to stop. We got to keep running and running like a madman. Like me. What Remnant needs the most right now are its protectors. That's You. Me. Us. Everyone. *Sighs softly* When Yang comes back...there's something I need to discuss with the four of you.

Weiss: What is it?

The Doctor: Can't say anything until Yang is with us, but just know this...I met with him again...

Blake: Who?

The Doctor: *lets out a small smile* The Doctor.

Another shocking revelation that shook the hearts of the girls, hearing that their Doctor once again met with the Original Doctor and if their Doctor needs to tell them something when they are altogether, it's something huge and important.

The Doctor: Whatever happens from here, whatever comes at our way, we face it together, and remember that we are doing it for Remnant. Remnant Falls No More!

This was the energy the girls needed after everything that happened and seeing the Doctor being the confident madman he is was enough to give them the motivation they needed as well to continue on. The TARDIS made a full landing as Blake and Ruby carried the unconscious Nora while Weiss made her way towards the door of her home and banged on it to which it opened with a very displeased Whitley Schnee in front of them.

Whitley: Oh, you've picked a fine time to-

Weiss: Not. Another. Word. We're coming in. *walks inside with the others* We can use my room to lay Nora there and continue the procedure.

Whitley: Things are already bad enough after what you did to father, now you want us to harbor fugitives too? Our family has a reputation.

Blake: That's what you're worried about? Your reputation?

Whitley: I'm just saying that we've already lost all the house staff, and mother locked herself in her room.

The Doctor: *walks up to Whitley* Shut up. Just shut up. For once in your life, get your head out of your father's egotistical strings and shut up. Your mother is not locked in the room sulking, she is in fact helping out and trying to get more help across the kingdom, okay? Right now, out there is a war that's about to happen and what matters most right now is protecting the people and getting them out of a war that they should not be a part of! Not to mention, we have a close friend of ours WHO IS HURT AND YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT REPUTATION?! You want reputation? It's not a damn thing your sorry excuse of a father displayed all around. Your grandfather, Nicholas Schnee, a hero to the people of Atlas and Mantle, the former head of UNIT, Your mother, Willow Schnee, one of the toughest, smartest, baddest women I have met AND the current head of UNIT, Your sisters, Winter and Weiss, huntresses and protectors of Remnant doing what is necessary and protecting these people and their home. There's a reputation right there! The true Schnee name, not the one Jacques has stained with his own hands! So if you don't have anything important to do or be of use for us, THEN LEAVE!

The girls felt shivers all across their bodies at seeing the sight of an angry Doctor and that is one of the most fearful sights no one wants to see. It was enough to terrify Whitley, leaving him completely speechless before making his way up without saying another word. The Doctor and Weiss began to carry Nora up towards Weiss's room as Blake noticed Ruby looking outside, worried about her sister and the others.

Blake: Ruby?

Ruby: I hope everyone's doing alright.

Blake: If you're worried about Yang, you could always try calling her.

Ruby: That's the thing. I did.

Ruby displayed her scroll to display her calling Yang but there was no answer. Suddenly, wind picked up at the entrance which caught the attention of both girls as a Manta ship arrived and out came a panicked May Marigold.

Ruby: May!

May: Guys! *pants* It's getting horrible by the minute out there!

Blake: What's going-

May: That giant Grimm is making its way towards Atlas and the Cyber Grimm have already begun to attack. Atlas Military is already fighting back...but the chances are not looking good...

Everyone all looked at each other worried as the Doctor knew he needed to act now and proceed with his plan. He looked over at Weiss who had a worried look but nodded her head to let him go, because if there's anything or anyone that could slow down Salem's plan and halt this soon to be war, it would be the Doctor.

Weiss: Go...

The Doctor: *looks at Ruby, Blake, and May* You lot, help Weiss get Nora to the room!

Weiss: Doctor!...*gulps with a scared look* Please be careful...Don't you dare do anything stupid that'll kill you!

The Doctor: *kisses her cheek* No promises. *Runs downstairs*

Weiss: DOCTOR! *Grunts then sighs in defeat*

The others went upstairs to help Weiss with Nora while the Doctor ran downstairs and out of the Schnee Mansion and inside the TARDIS as he pulled the lever with the police box disappearing into thin air in a matter of seconds.

May: Where's he going? What is he going to do?!

Weiss: *bites lip and looks over* He's going right to the battlefield...The Oncoming Storm approaching and it's not even the Monstra. If there's one thing Remnant needs the most when huntsmen and huntresses are scattered, Kingdoms are falling, lives are at stake. What's that last option you have left? Remnant needs the Doctor.

Chaos was growing by the minute and all across Atlas and Mantle. On the east side of Mantle, three hover bikes speed through the city which were led by Yang with Oscar, Ren, and Jaune. Using her Sonic Sunglasses to detect any sign of life around or Grimms nearby, Yang proceeded forward and lunged herself from the hover bike to take down two Grimms while the others arrive to search around.

Yang: *contacts Fiona* Okay, Fiona. That's one more problem taken care of.

Fiona: Good, cause we're getting reports of more Grimm coming in from the west. The Huntsmen there could really use some backup.

Yang: *sighs* Okay. We're on our way.

Oscar: It's all the negativity from the Cybermen attacks. Salem's forces aren't moving in just yet, but it's enough to start attracting the stragglers.

Ren: Guys, we're not finished.

A loud growl was heard which put the team in fighting stances while Yang tried to locate it until her Sonic Sunglasses detected nearby Grimm scattering away.

Yang: Guys...the Grimm are running away...

Jaune: Ran? I've only seen Grimm act that way before if the Doctor was nearby.

Oscar: But if he's not here nor approaching us...then what were they running fro-

Everyone: OSCAR!

Out of nowhere and out of the darkness, a large and new Grimm creature sprinted towards them and made its first attack on Oscar, tackling him to the ground then grabbing his arm with its jaw and flung towards the ground again. It dodged shots from Yang and Ren before sweeping them to ground then tackling Jaune as well. This was a new beast and special one created by Salem herself. It was known as The Hound.

Yang: *grunts* Oscar...

Yang tried to get up and fight back but the Hound grabbed her with ease and slammed her towards the wall. It then approached the unconscious Oscar before two sets of hooks latched onto its back, causing it to roar as Ren tries to pull it back but the Hound expands its arms then proceeds to grab both hooks then swing Ren around, sending him towards a wall as well. It noticed Jaune charging towards him but it thought for a moment and grabbed Oscar to use as a shield which caught Yang by surprise.

Yang: Wait! It's using Oscar as a shield.

Jaune: But Grimm aren't that smart. Unless it has some sort Cyber thing inside of it.

Ren: *grunts and points my guns at it* GIVE HIM BACK!

The Hound held Oscar close as its body continue to shift around with noises of limbs cracking then its neck made a low growling noise before shocking Yang, Jaune, and Ren with a thing no Grimm has ever done before...

The Hound: No.

Silence has spread across the area as none of the heroes could move or react while the Hound walked away, carrying a knocked-out Oscar before its body begins to painfully shift again but now wings began to come out of its back before flying off with Oscar as the three still couldn't process what just happened.

Fiona: *over comms* Kids, what's your status? West side's taking damage.

Ren: What do we do?...

Fiona: Kids. What's your status?

Yang: *over comms* We've got an emergency, we're not going to make it.

Fiona: What? What kind of emergency?

Yang: ...You wouldn't believe me if I told you...

In the east side of Mantle, the streets were filled with teared apart pieces of the Cybermen, laying all over the ground as the two aliens standing tall over the Steel Warriors, The Dalek and the Ice Warrior.

Dalek Khan: What are your orders here, Ice Warrior?

Shalka: I am Lieutenant Shalka. I have no orders; I have been on my own in this world, this part of the region for many years. I have been accustoming my stay in the mountains, adapting and surviving until I saw the chaos and destruction occur in this city.

Dalek Khan: Are you on your own?

Shalka: Yes. I do not know if there are more of my people out here. I sent a signal towards them but I never have gotten a response in return. *Looks at Dalek Khan* What is a Dalek doing here and helping me destroy the Cybermen?

Dalek Khan: I am a Rogue Dalek. I have gone against my species and have changed to become my own.

Shalka: I have heard that all Daleks were destroyed in the Time War with the Time Lords.

Dalek Khan: That information is false. I am still here and so is the Doctor.

Shalka: The Doctor? The Doctor himself is here!

Dalek Khan: Yes, and he is out there trying to help the people of this city evacuate while handling the threat that is coming.

Shalka: And you are helping him? A Dalek helping a Time Lord?

Dalek Khan: The Doctor is my ally...and my friend. We both escaped the Time War and have been here doing what is right, saving lives, protecting planets from threats. We don't do it alone; we have friends from this world who help us as well.

Shalka: You have friends from this planet? Then perhaps you can help me find a specific person that I have not seen in many years. Is she still around?

Dalek Khan: Who?

Shalka: Her name is Willow Schnee.

An explosion blasted through one of the buildings, collapsing to the ground as the streets was filled with debris and smoke. It did not phase the Ice Warrior nor the Dalek as they heard noises coming from the other side of the smoke and as it got closer, a figure came right out of the smoke, for it was the Lone Cyberman, Ashad. The enemy of the two alien warriors.

Ashad: What an interesting sight, a Dalek and a Ice Warrior working together.

Shalka: We still have a fight to finish, Cyberman.

Dalek Khan: You will be stopped. Your armies, your abominations, it will be defeated and you will have nothing left.

Ashad: *chuckles* You think this is our army? We're not just here, Dalek. Where...are...Everywhere! *Raises my arms up*

And from the smoke, growling noises came through as they slowly crept out of the smoke and standing right behind Ashad, a pack of Cyber Grimms, most specifically the Cyber Beast, Cyber Beowolves, Cyber Lancers, and Cyber Death Stalkers. Dalek Khan and Shalka positioned themselves for another challenge with Shalka grabbing one of the Cybermen blasters to even out the odds.

Ashad: Finish them.

The Lone Cyberman turned around and disappeared in the smoke as the pack of Cyber Grimm growled and lunged towards the Dalek and Ice Warrior as another chaotic fight ensued.

Wherever the heroes were, chaos would follow and it just seemed like none of it was going their way. Yang and her team were outside of Mantle on their hover bikes, crossing the tundra to chase the Hound carrying Oscar. And just as they seemed to get closer, the Hound called for backup with Grimm appearing out of nowhere and attacking the heroes. They were outnumbered but they were able to handle them. But it was far too late as the Hound was now out of sight and they were stuck there with both Ren and Jaune's hover bikes destroyed.

Jaune: *over comms* I repeat, if anybody can hear me...*sighs* We need transport back to Mantle.

Yang: We need to get out of this weather before the cold drops our Auras completely. How much farther to the outpost?

Yang waited for Ren to respond but he did not answer nor give her an answer which was starting to frustrate her.

Yang: Ren, how much-

Ren: I don't know.

Yang: I thought you said you saw it when you were up in the air.

Ren: I did, before I had to cut myself loose to help you guys.

Yang: *sighs in frustration* Yeah, you've brought that up a couple times now. Something you need to say?

Ren: Not really. Wouldn't want to waste any more time. *Begins to walk away*

Yang: *eyes widened and pulls him back* Hey! What is your deal?

Ren: Don't worry about it.

Yang: Well, I'm sorry things aren't going smoothly enough for you!

Jaune: Guys-

Ren: They're not going smoothly at all.

Yang: I hate to break it to you, but that's part of being a Huntsman.

Ren: Are you kidding?! We don't know the first thing about being Huntsmen. We clearly weren't ready.

Jaune: Guys, stop it.

Yang: Were we not ready when we saved Haven? When we took down a Leviathan? We got the Lamp to Atlas.

Ren: And then we lost it! And after that, when we had to make real decisions, we got every single one wrong.

Yang: I'm not going to pretend like we did everything perfectly, but if we'd done nothing, things would be even worse than they are now.

Ren: How could they possibly be worse? We are stuck out here while Salem has the Lamp and Oscar. We've got no plan, no army.

Yang: We've got the Maiden. We've got the Doctor-

Ren: And by keeping her from opening the Vault for Ironwood, we're just trapping the whole city for Salem. We haven't heard anything from the Doctor who knows where he is! He shouts about losing his home and his people YET HE'S DOING THE SAME HERE-

An aggressive, cold punch came from Yang as her fist connected right to Ren's face which knocked him to the ground while Jaune had to hold Yang back from doing more as this was wasting time and making the situation even worse.

Yang: You should be glad I didn't use my prosthetic arm or else you'll be out cold. He was certainly right. We are screaming children in situations like these especially people with short temper. If we followed like he did, we could have gotten this done faster and less stressful than it should be.

Ren: People are going to die. Because of US!

Yang: So what, we should just give Ironwood what he wants? Abandon Mantle? You think Atlas is still gonna be able to float to safety now that she's here?

Ren: I don't know. But these aren't the kinds of decisions we should be making because we have no idea what we're doing.

Jaune: Okay, both of you. Cut it out. Right now, just isn't the time to release all our angers and if we have things to say to each other *glares at Ren* We do it at a proper time and not right now! Oscar needs us, Mantle needs us, the girls need us so let's just put all that steam and emotions to the side and focus on what matters most right now. You don't think we should be Huntsmen, fine, but I'm getting out of the cold. *Walks forward*

Yang: *scoffs* Seriously, is your goal just to push everyone away?

Yang and Jaune continued to walk forward and find a way out of this cold while Ren just stood there with tears slowly falling from his eyes and clenching his fists. He took a deep breath and accepted the truth that he has indeed pushed everyone away.

Inside the Cyber Monstra, in an uncharted and empty section of the beast, was the Atlas bomb as the Doctor was working on a few more adjustments before activating the bomb. He looked over to his hand and noticed it trembling as he took another deep breath to continue the work.

The Doctor: You must've felt this way when you had to originally end the Time War by burning it, Doctor?

Unbeknownst to the Doctor, he hoped to activate this bomb and get out of here as soon as possible but he did not know he would need to delay that activation temporarily. Somewhere else inside the beast, Oscar began to regain consciousness once again and looked around, only for his vision to still be a bit blurry.

Ozpin: Oscar? Don't panic. We're going to be okay.

Oscar: Uh, what?

As Oscar slowly got more conscious, he noticed himself tangled up in black goo as he looked around to see fleshy walls, bone spikes, resembling the inside of the Grimm and right by the doorway across from him was a dark figure slowly approaching him with a malicious smile on her face.

Salem: My long-lost Ozma, found at last.