Volume 3, Chapter 28:

Salem: So small, this new host of yours. It's a wonder my Hound didn't break you. It's been how many years since we saw each other like this, face to face? And nothing to say?

Salem was now looking right at the new host of her once former lover, Oscar looked at her, trying to remain calm and proceeded to act like if Ozpin was in control.

Oscar: I'm sorry the reunion isn't living up to your expectations.

Salem: *sighs* You can pretend, boy, but you're not fully him. Not yet, at least. *sighs* Well, perhaps you and I can have a better working relationship. Oscar, was it? *Slowly turns around* The Beacon Relic. My forces have been unable to locate the Relic beneath the school. If I know my Ozma, he has used some means of deception to hide its location differently than the others. I need to know where it is.

Oscar: I... That's not something I know about.

Salem: Hmm. Of course. He would keep that one guarded as long as possible. How about something easier, then? The password for the Lamp.

Oscar: The Lamp is all out of questions. And the Doctor jumped forward to the next 100 years to use the three questions again, that's where we learned about your defeat.

A small twitch struck Salem but did not look back at the boy but instead summoned a black orb and released some sort of energy onto Oscar's chest, causing him to scream out in pain.

Salem: The lies come out of you so easily. Like-minded souls indeed. One of you is going to tell me what you know. I don't much care if it is you or Ozma. Either way, I'll finally have the Relic. And no one, not even that Doctor will stop me!

Oscar: *grunts* I...won't... tell you anything...

Salem regained her calm demeanor as she inspected the boy even after that painful blast from the orb and he stays strong. She was impressed by how well Ozpin has trained and prepared him. The membrane door then opens to reveal another figure walking in and one both Oscar and Ozpin feared of confronting, Hazel Rainart. Hazel approached Oscar and punched him to the ground before Oscar could explain while Salem watched.

Hazel: That was for Haven Academy. *Kicks him to the wall* Everything that follows...will be for my sister.

Hazel cracked his knuckles before proceeding to continue beating Oscar up while Salem and her Hound made their leave from the room. The echoes of his painful screams were heard all around the beast and was eventually heard by the Doctor as he got up immediately, recognizing that scream.

The Doctor: Oscar...No...*looks at the bomb then thinks* Save Oscar, activate the bomb, and get it out of here. *Looks at the TARDIS and places my hand on her* Find help. Anyone you can or that's nearby. I'll try to get Oscar back as soon as possible but I might be met with trouble. Go!

The TARDIS at first let out low groaning noises as if she did not want to leave the Doctor but he gave her a confident nod which she followed and began to make her leave, leaving the time lord on his own as he looked out towards what will be the belly of the beast.

The Doctor: Hang on, Oscar.

Somewhere else in the Cyber Monstra, Salem continued walking with the Hound until she encounters Cinder and her asset, Neo as the Fall Maiden notices her majesty and kneels before addressing something to her. But to their horrors, they were not expecting the Hound for it was the first time they see it.

Cinder: Your grace, I- What... is that?

Salem: *pets the Hound* An... experiment. So far, I am pleased with the results. *Glares at Cinder* Did you need something, Cinder?

Cinder: Yes, I... I want to search for the Winter Maiden. I think-

Salem: Do you hear that, my pet? She thinks. She wants. *Walks past Cinder* As if she's done something that warrants me caring about either of those things.

Cinder: We're just sitting and waiting. Without the Maiden power, the vault means nothing. Let me claim it for you.

Salem: I will tell you when and where you are needed.

Cinder: But your grace-

The Hound stops Cinder and releases a bone chilling roar that frightens Cinder and Neo, leaving both of them frozen out of fear while Salem calms her Hound down then glares once again at Cinder with annoyance.

Salem: I would like to think I have shown a great deal of patience over my many years walking Remnant. But I do hate repeating myself. You will remain here. Is. That. Clear?

Cinder: *looks down in defeat* Yes, yes, of course. Without you, I am nothing.

And with that, Salem made her leave once again with her creation but the Hound wasn't feeling too pleased as it felt a smell of something unusual. Salem noticed and caught on that something was off.

Salem: Looks like someone has decided to sneak in here as well.

Once Salem and the Hound made their leave, Cinder waited for a few more seconds before getting up speed walking to the other side with a deadpanned expression from Neo knowing that Cinder wasn't going to stop as they made their way to the airship.

Cinder: I know what she said. I just wanna check on something. We'll be back before anyone realizes. *Looks at the airship* I wanna see if anything is still going on at Amity Colosseum. *Sneaks inside* Salem doesn't know those children like I do. They wouldn't just abandon their misguided attempt to save the world.

I wouldn't be too surprised if this was a plan by the Doctor. I've known the Doctor and schemes like this are always his go to when things get very complicated.

Cinder: Still not enough.

And would you put some care for Neo?! She's the reason you made it back and with the Relic yet you're taking the credit.

Cinder: *grunts and looks at Neo* The voice in my head is saying you've been doing a good job. There, I said it.

Neo's look softened as she heard the compliment from the actual Cinder Fall that is her time lord version. She used her hands to sign a "Thank You" to Cinder which she ignores. A small cough was heard from behind, startling both of them until it happened to be Emerald.

Emerald: If she doesn't want to, I'll come. I've been working on my Semblance. I can help. I won't tell anybody.

Cinder: *sighs once again* How much did you overhear?

The Doctor continued to carefully sneak around the Cyber Monstra, hoping he wouldn't be detected by either Grimm or Cybermen. He tried to track down Oscar but it was difficult with the size of this beast and the number of challenges in front of him, most importantly, Salem. Continuing to carefully walk through, he heard multiple metallic stomps in sync as the Doctor hid while a group of Cybermen marched past him. Once they were out of sight, the Doctor looked over and decided to give a follow, believing Oscar could be with them.

The Doctor: Hopefully, you're still alive Oscar. *Carefully follows the Cybermen*

Outside the Cyber Monstra, the sun has disappeared into the dark and the night has risen by the starry skies were impossible to see with the dark clouds soon surrounding Atlas and Mantle. In the east side of Mantle, destruction and bodies were all over the streets as Cybermen, Cyber Beasts, and Cyber Grimms were all teared apart and killed while the only ones standing tall once again was Dalek Khan and Shalka the Ice Warrior, but this battle much more challenging than the previous one with the Cybermen.

Shalka: *pants and growls* Any signs of that specific Cyberman or any more abominations?

Dalek Khan: Scanning. Scanning. Nothing. There are no detection of Cybermen besides the ones we have destroyed.

Shalka: Then I must return to my first priority and find Willow Schnee. I will take no for an answer Dalek!

Dalek Khan: *looks up* She is located up there. The levitating island known as Atlas. There is an empty but functional airship 2 miles from here. It has an auto-pilot feature but you must insert the location: Schnee Mansion. It'll take you to her and my friends.

Shalka: Very well. And what about you, Dalek?

Dalek Khan: I must continue my mission as well, to protect the people and help the Doctor. When you arrive up there, let my friends know that I sent you, so they don't see you as a threat.

The Ice Warrior nodded and made his leave to where Dalek Khan instructed him to go. Dalek Khan hoped it wouldn't be the last time he encounters the Ice Warrior as he made way to the other side of the streets until he stopped when he detected the TARDIS materializing.

Dalek Khan: Doctor?

There was no response from the Doctor but from the TARDIS instead, alerting Dalek Khan of the situation and the Doctor needing assist. The TARDIS pinpointed the location of the Doctor inside the Cyber Monstra then the location of Yang, Jaune, and Ren in the cold tundra outside of Mantle.

Dalek Khan: We must hurry! The sooner we get there, the less the Doctor is in risk of fatal danger.

The Dalek made his way inside the TARDIS as she made herself disappear into thin air and proceeded to the next destination which was a mini outpost where Ren was outside on his own while Jaune was inside resting and Yang as well but fixing up the hover bike.

Yang: *stops for a moment* Do you...think she thinks less of me...for not helping out with Amity?

Jaune: Ruby is your sister, she's always going to love you even if you disagree with each other.

Yang: Yeah. Ruby...

Jaune: I need to get some sleep, but I can't stop thinking about Oscar.

Yang: Go on. I'll make sure Ren doesn't brood himself to death out in the cold.

Jaune: Thanks. I just have a bad feeling. Things always seem to get worse before they get better.

Just as Jaune lied down and began to close his eyes to rest, the three stopped when they heard the TARDIS making its fast arrival. At that same time, the ground began to shake aggressively which concerned the three even more as they went outside and spotted the TARDIS in front of them.

Jaune: What was that shaking?

Yang: I don't know, but hopefully we can get some answers. *Knocks on the doors* Doctor!

Dalek Khan: *opens the doors* Inside the TARDIS NOW! There's no time to explain, the Doctor needs help and Oscar is up there as well.

Yang and Jaune: OSCAR?!

Ren: Then let's go. We need to correct our mistakes and start making it right, starting now. *Walks inside the TARDIS*

Yang and Jaune looked at each other a bit surprised by Ren's sudden answer despite the same grumpy mood. They made their way in as well inside as the TARDIS now heads to its next location, back to the Cyber Monstra.

On top of all of this, above Atlas, above Mantle, and above the Cyber Monstra was the Amity Communications. It was near ready to go up and spread the signal that needs to be heard. Penny continues to fix the final adjustments while Pietro starts getting the codes in.

Pietro: We have enough systems up and running to broadcast our message and keep Amity in atmospheric orbit. But our thrusters just aren't capable of reaching our target altitude on their own.

Maria: Ha, fortunately, we're sitting on a couple hundred tons of thrust.

Pietro: Once we passed into broadcast range, we'll activate stabilizers, re-establish global communications, and boost the message we've recorded out into the rest of the world. After that, we just have to pilot Amity away from all this mess.

Penny: But what if no one is able to come and help Atlas? If I stay behind, I could maybe-

Pietro: Penny, we are not having this conversation again. I'm your father and I'm telling you that you belong on Amity.

Penny: ...Yes, sir.

Maria: Don't you think Penny has had enough people telling her what to do?

Pietro: *sighs* Prepare for launch, please. I'm moving us into position. All systems are ready. Penny?

Penny: *looks over and nods* Ready.

They all waited and looked at the screens as it says "Connecting…" And after a few moments, the tower's stabilizers activate, glowing purple, and the communications tower was now ready to go. It was time to spread the message.

Pietro: Oh yes, it worked! Oh, I didn't have time to install seat belts, so I'd advise you to hang on.

Cinder: And where do you think you're going?

The new voice startled the three as they all looked at the direction of the voice of Cinder Fall as she walks in to the main arena section alongside Neo and Emerald. Penny got up and knew what needed to be done. Clinching her fist while her eyes released green flames, Penny charged towards Cinder as Cinder did the same with both Winter and Fall Maidens colliding and beginning their fight.

Cinder: I was hoping your friends would be here. But it looks like they left you to do all the work. *laughs* You're just a tool to be used!

Penny: You do not know what you are talking about.

The two charge again, using their full maiden powers and weapons for an ultimate clash until Maria tries to get back on the Mech to help Penny, only for it to be taken down by Neopolitan while Pietro tries to continue stabilizing and getting the communications tower up in the air.

Maria: Stupid, clunky machine!

Pietro: Please, please, please! YES! *Eyes widened* Wait...we're drifting?

Maria: *grunts and looks at Neo* And what do you want?

Neo used her semblance to disguise herself as Ruby before pulling Maria out and trying to finish her off, only be caught off guard by Maria's skills which gives Neo a hard time trying to fight back. Penny flies around the colosseum as Cinder sends flame arrows at her, but Penny fires lasers in response. Cinder dodges then tries to slash her with swords, but Penny blocks them with her own and flies up above the colosseum. Getting more frustrated, Cinder sends more flame arrows at Penny and dodges all but one which makes contact. Cinder then combines her maiden swords into a bow and firing a few glass arrows. Penny dodges them, but they sink into the colosseum's roof and explode, creating a hole and more problems for the tower itself.

Penny: No! *Looks at Cinder* Why are you doing this? Why serve someone like Salem?

Cinder: I don't serve anyone. And you wouldn't either, if you weren't built that way.

Penny: *looks at my dad* I choose to fight for people who care about me.

Using her Maiden powers, Penny shoots ice magic at Cinder's flames but didn't see Cinder move on time as she wraps her legs around Penny's waist, and grabs her with her Grimm arm, trying to absorb the Winter Maiden. Penny grabs the Grimm arm's wrist and screams in both terror and anger as she slowly begins to move Cinder's Grimm arm away then headbutts Cinder which knocks her out momentarily, thus by surprise, the time lord self of Cinder takes over.

Time Lord Cinder: W-What in the-

Penny took this advantage and struck Cinder down. As she flies back up, the Time Lord Cinder tried to gather her thoughts and figure out what to do before Cinder comes back at any moment or Penny damages her more.

Time Lord Cinder: How do you even use these maiden powers? AAH! *Dodges another blast* That's it! YOU! GREEN HAIR! ILLUSIONS NOW!

Emerald recognized this wasn't Cinder at the moment but followed orders as she created multiple hallucinations of Cinder and surrounding Penny which frustrated the Winter Maiden then activated her heat signature system to find the real Cinder and to her shock, her two hearts were detected as well. Penny goes on to use her powers to create a massive whirlwind which erases all the illusions then used her all swords to create a spinning laser weapon.

Time Lord Cinder: Clever girl- *blacks out*

Cinder: *regains consciousness* Urgh?! What- *looks up* Shit.

The laser fires which blasts and pins Cinder to the ground, screaming in massive pain from the impact as she then crashes onto a wall before falling to the ground, knocked out for good until something rolled out of her shorts, the fob watch.

Emerald: CINDER! No no no! NO!

As she tried to help Cinder out, there was no luck which terrified Emerald as she saw Penny standing tall. Emerald noticed the fob watch and picked it up, debating whether she should open it or not but shook her thoughts out and pointed her gun at Penny.

Emerald: I know I can't beat you. But I can fill that thing full of holes before you take me down. *Picks up Cinder* NEO!

A defeated Neo notices the situation and knows they're now in a lose-lose situation which she hopes Salem punishes Cinder very terribly. She retreats and helps Emerald escape with Cinder as the tower continues to rumble around as Penny helps out Maria then checks on her father.

Penny: Dad! Are you okay?

Pietro: I'm fine...but the stabilizer was damaged. We've missed our window. At this rate, we're likely to drift until touching down just north of-

Penny: I can fix this.

Maria: What?

Penny: Our message is only a few minutes long. I can try and hold Amity in place until-

Pietro: Absolutely not! You're in no condition to do something like this. Even just the temperature out there could-

Penny: It is our only option.

Maria: She is right, Pietro. We have to remember the big picture-

Pietro: I don't care about the big picture! I care about my daughter! *Slams my fist then looks down* I lost you before. Are you asking me to go through that again? No. No. I want the chance to watch you live your life.

Penny: But dad...*hugs him* I am trying to.

Pietro knew there was no other alternative to fix this and Penny's idea was the very last option but he didn't want to risk it. He lost her once with his wife. He lost her again in Beacon. He was getting tired and emotionally broken of losing her again, but he knew this was the only choice left. He grabbed her hand and held it close as she smiled softly and placed a kiss at the top of his head.

Pietro: *breathes then nods* Okay. Go.

Penny nodded before hugging her father one more time then flies out of the damaged hole and goes below the stabilizer of the communications tower. With all her power, strength, and gears, Penny began to use full force to lift Amity Tower up as Pietro watched from the computer screen.

Pietro: Come on, Penny.

Maria: Yes! Atta girl!

Penny continues to lifting the tower with determination and thinking about those she cares most for. It keeps going up until it reaches broadcast range which Pietro spots it on screen and immediately accepts it, causing all the screens across Remnant to display a text saying "Atlas Emergency Broadcast System" as it then switches out for a video of Ruby Rose standing there awkwardly and awaiting the go ahead.

Blake: Okay, go ahead.

Ruby: Um, uh. Hi. My name is Ruby Rose. I'm a Huntress. And if we've done everything right, then I'm talking to all of Remnant right now. Dr. Polendina can explain more later, but right now you all need to know that the Kingdom of Atlas is under attack. Things are dire, and we need help. But please, try not to panic. This isn't some new enemy or invading Kingdom. This isn't an alien threat like we've seen before. This is a force we've faced before, for centuries... Salem.

The broadcast continues to play all across Remnant, from the Mistral train station, Argus where Saphron and Terra watched, to Menagerie where Ilia, Ghira and Kali watched listened alongside the rest of the people, to back in Vale where Professor Glynda Goodwitch watched on and was surprised to see her students still going.

Ruby: The White Fang, Atlesian drones, even the Grimm themselves have all been controlled and manipulated by her, in order to tear down the Huntsman Academies. And now, she has the Cybermen to help her commence the next phase of her plan. But like her, we have also come with a big help and one that all of Remnant knows of, The Doctor.

Whitley Schnee watched the broadcast with a bit of sadness then motivation as he continues to read files from his grandfather's archived collection titled "UNIT'S CLASSIFIED FILES". The Kingdom of Vacuo were listening as well with Theodore watching the broadcast alongside the Summer Maiden who couldn't help but smile at seeing Ruby Rose and the strong message that will bring change to Remnant. Next to them were also Sun and Neptune as they listened.

Neptune: Dude...

Ruby: I know the idea of the Maidens and Relics seems...well...crazy, but I promise Professor Goodwitch of Beacon and Headmaster Theodore of Shade can verify all of this. *sighs* They might even be able to help organize a way to fight back. But sadly, General Ironwood can no longer be trusted.

And unfortunately, the broadcast was also displayed back at Atlas Academy with Ironwood, Arthur Watts, Winter Schnee, and the Ace-Ops watching. A mixed reaction from the entire room with Ironwood being displeased about this, Arthur Watts feeling excited, Ace-Ops furious which led to Harriet muting the TV. But Winter and Marrow looked at each other and nodded that this was the right decision and only the beginning of the light. They both carried their UNIT's badges near them as well, knowing what to do if things go worse.

Ironwood: It seems Polendina's proxy trick worked.

Arthur Watts: And that's good news for us. Penny's blades operate on the same principle as Amity in the launch terminal. In order for her to control them all, they need to communicate with one another.

Ruby: We didn't have time to prepare for Salem. But now you do! Just because she can't be destroyed, doesn't mean she can't be beaten. If she really was unstoppable, she wouldn't have acted with such caution until now. Here's the ultimate factor that gives us the advantage against her, she WILL be defeated by us. The Doctor saw it happened and now he has given us the basic steps on beginning her end.

Inside the Cyber Monstra, the TARDIS lands back where she originally left as Yang's Team alongside Dalek Khan rush out and began their search for the Doctor and Oscar. Somewhere else, the Doctor continues to follow the Cybermen until he spots their entrance and proceeds to sneak in as well.

Ruby: She knows we're a threat. So even if we- even if Atlas falls, you can't give up! She failed at fully taking over Beacon because of him and us. She failed at Haven because of us! She is afraid of us! She knows it too that her defeat is near. But we can't stop, we can't be afraid, we have to be strong, we have to be hopeful,...and we have to fight for those we care for.

Unbeknownst to Ruby or any of her team, the message is being heard not just across Remnant but out in the universe as well. The Judoons watched the message from their newly formed Shadow Proclamation base. In the plant world known as X'aphoria, the plant duplicate and queen of the planet, Vine Weiss listened from the Sonic Screwdriver given by the Doctor. Other planets that have met the Doctor and his friends, and even helped them were listening. In the airship heading to Atlas, Shalka the Ice Warrior listened with pride and confidence and somewhere beneath the deep waters of Remnant, the message was also being heard by another alien species as the main one moves forward as it watched from an eyestalk similar to Dalek Khan.

The message was heard, loud and clear, but it did not matter for Arthur Watts once he began to tweak the forgotten sword of Penny which caused Penny to glitch and start to lose a bit of control. Her eyes flickered red before letting out a small cry of pain which Pietro heard.

Pietro: Penny! What's going on out there?

Penny: I... *grunts* I do not know!

Ruby: *smiles hopefully* I hope Amity Tower will help bring us all together. Because in the end, that's how we'll win-

And that would be the end of it, as the feed was cut completely. In front of the TV after hearing her message was her father, Taiyang who had his hand reached out to see his baby girl once again but now she was gone.

Taiyang: No! No, come back!...

Pietro: Penny, you've done enough, sweetheart. Get back inside! We can ride out on Amity together.

Penny struggled to keep control of herself and whatever was trying to hold her down but every second felt like she was losing this one.

Penny: NO! I- I have to go! The Vault! NO! *Voice cracks* Dad!

Her eyes looked dull and motionless as her powers deactivated and her gears turned off and she began to fall like a shining star with flames surrounding her. She had a little bit left in her as she could hear her father calling out to her.

Pietro: Penny! What is happening!? Please, baby, say something...

Penny: I love you...Dad...

And that would be the very last thing Pietro would hear the communications with his daughter were cut completely. She was gone again. The third time he tried to make it right and the outcome remained the same which broke him.

Pietro: PENNY!