Jetstream Jaune: Revengeance

by Alfa21

Remnant and The United Continents. Two civilizations, separated by history with none knowing of the other. And Jaune was the first to have been to both, the only person from Remnant who saw a world destroyed by men and their war - all with no Grimm. Alone, he must adapt to survive, and face the truth of what fighting in a land of war truly that means. Cover by tsugeru

45. Guns of Haven

Heya!

First of all, I'd like to thank everyone who's been supporting the story. Hope this chapter goes well!

Secondly, this is probably the longest I've ever written, since there's so much to cover and I wanted to end it in a specific way. So even with some of the rather cut content, I hope it's good!

Also, there are really three themes in this chapter, w/context One, the Shining Finger theme, two, Guns of the Patriots, and three… you'll know it when you see it ;)

And another thing, because I had to trim stuff down to fit in one chapter, some might have a bit of an off timing. What I mean is, I don't mean to say that what Indigo had done here and a certain someone went through when he was a child are the same. Though there are similarities, the conditions are also different. Similarities which will play a large part for Jaune.

With that said and done, enjoy!

---

In the dark, deep waters of Vale's oceans, a submarine quietly travelled without a single sound. It was a small craft; just enough to transport a handful of people, unequipped with battle capabilities. Most important of all, it had been designed with stealth as its priority. With that in mind, no matter what kind of technology was used, its pilot was sure that no one would be able to trace it, just how she liked it.

Using this very submarine, The Boss patiently dived farther from the edges of Vale's beaches, going to deeper and deeper territory. After approximately forty minutes of diving in the submarine alone, and after going at a considerably high speed, she finally reached her destination.

The Boss quietly lifted the sub's periscope and looked above water. There, a good distance in front of her sub, was uncharted land carefully kept secret from any Kingdoms other than Atlas and Vale. A chunk of good old Atlas land smack dab in the middle of Vale's oceans region.

A black site.

It was here that Cinder's AI had finally found it, and with it, The Boss could turn the tide of the war with a single strike.

The Boss nodded to herself and lowered the sub's periscope. She directed the submarine just a little bit closer to land, and after that, ejected herself using the submarine's one-man Swimmer Delivery Vehicle.

It tore through the waters with blinding speed, delivering its payload with directed precision. And then, as soon as she got close enough, The Boss stopped the SDV and opened its hatch.

The SDV broke apart and opened up, letting The Boss feel the water wet her clothes. Managing her breath, she ascended the waters as the SDV broke apart and fell below.

The waters got warmer and warmer as she ascended, becoming warmer every metre she got higher. As the darkness faded and The Boss saw clear blue, she swam to the edges of the island and found a small cave to beach upon.

Splash!

The Boss exited the waters and landed on the rocks within the cave, carefully concealing her position before taking in a deep breath. She opened her Scroll and checked the vital signs of her disciple.

Still alive with full Aura, with Emerald's going down fast.

Something must've happened… which made this mission all the more important. The Boss let out a silent breath. No pressure. She had done this a thousand times before.

The Boss dried herself and peeked outside the cave. She just barely saw the submarine diving away and back to Vale's docks, just as she had programmed it to. Once it was there, it would safely hide in a spot Cinder knew and would be available for them to use for their escape.

The Boss looked up. Some rocky formations on the side of the cave lead to a spot above it, higher and higher until it reached an entry point to the Black site. The sun was shining high in the sky, but already past the point of afternoon.

The Boss gave a nod to herself. Without another word, she ascended the rocky formations of the Black site.

In war, there were many aspects to consider before reaching Victory. The risks, the strengths, the adaptability of both you and your opposing faction… it was much more complicated than a game of chess.

But still, between the U.C and Remnant, there was one thing The Boss found in common. And that was the times, and how both sides changed and adapted as it flowed without ever stopping a single second.

As time went on, Hunters and Huntresses improved their arsenals. Weaponising all kinds of Dust, the invention of mechashift technology, stronger Semblances, improved Aura control, they all aided them in fighting back both the Grimm and themselves.

On the other side, the Grimm got stronger with each passing second. The longer they were alive, the more they learned and evolved. And with a new swarm coming every year, it made sure that the general Grimm population would always grow stronger.

Ozpin's condition of victory was the survival of humans and Faunus, with an endgame of defeating Salem. Salem's only condition of victory was the utter destruction of humanity.

Like it or not, it had been a stalemate for as long as she remembered, yet slowly inching to Salem's side.

That was, until a certain something washed up ashore at the beaches of Mantle, quickly recovered by Atlas and kept a secret from the other Kingdoms. It was the very thing Watts was working on before he left, what caused his defection, and what could turn the tide of their war. Both sides knew that, and as such it was re-designed to be the strongest it could ever be. Where else could Atlas have sourced its rapid technological development?

For Ironwood, it was the ultimate weapon to take the Grimm out. A total replacement for the deployment of standard troops, minimizing any risk he would have to ever take.

But for The Boss, who had seen the grandfather of its design so long ago in the Shagohod, she couldn't help but think of it as one thing.

A weapon to surpass Ozpin and his Hunters.

The Hunter Deterrent.

---

Venom ran through the halls as fast as he could. He could even feel traces of the Grimm powers he held leaking, but he made sure to keep it in control. He was in Beacon, after all.

The horde of people was getting thicker and thicker. Finally, after a final push, he ended in an empty hallway. He let out a silent breath. Finally, it seemed he had pushed past the thick of them…

He looked around, wanting to take in where he currently was. And there, to his right, was the Combat Room, complete with clangs sounding from inside. Venom took a peek inside. He had a feeling someone inside was one of the people he would be looking for.

He opened the door slowly, and true to his instincts one of his targets was inside. It was Indigo, standing in the middle of the battle stage with broken Atlesian droids surrounding her. Her sword was planted next to her, right through a droid.

Venom stepped inside and closed the door behind him, keeping a keen eye on Indigo all the while. She didn't seem to notice him, instead staring at her hand with fading focus. She seemed extremely tired from the workout, and Venom could just barely catch a blue glow fading from the hand. And was that electricity..?

Venom instead took a look at the droids around her. They were destroyed beyond repair. At first sight, they seemed destroyed like any Huntress would've done. But upon closer inspection, the cuts that separated them started getting cleaner and cleaner. Venom narrowed his eye. The edges of the cut were melted, almost like the blade that cut had molecular weakening properties…

Venom decided to ask Indigo to her face. "Your Semblance?"

"Huh?" Indigo was shaken out of her reverie when Venom called out to her. "Oh, it's you, V. Yeah, I was practicing my Semblance. Arc Wave."

"I've seen the videos." Venom said. "Launching electric shocks from your zweihänder, right?"

"Exactly. But I've been experimenting…" Indigo's eyes shot to the broken droids at her feet. Her cuts hadn't been clean enough. Her sword lacked electricity and didn't vibrate enough, so it wasn't quite molecular weakening just yet.

But still, that thing she did with her hand might be useful. She had to keep up with the newcomers and had to be able to fight.

Indigo shook her head. "But enough on that. I'm guessing you have something to update me on?"

"Yeah." Venom gave a slow nod. "We found the traitor."

"Really?" Indigo pulled her sword and sheathed it to her back. "That was certainly fast. And after last night, too."

"They slipped up, we just made sure it won't go to waste." Venom disregarded. "Their names are Cinder, Emerald, Mercury, and Nia. Part of Team CMEN, acting as returning transfer students from Haven."

Indigo nodded, stretching her arms from the practice she just did. "Make sure to keep me informed, then." She got off the stage and walked past Venom. "I'm sure they haven't realized it yet-"

"Actually, they have."

Indigo paused in her steps. Venom turned around and looked at her once more. "They're already in the process of escaping, Indigo. We don't know how exactly. But there's been a plane crash in Downtown Vale, and Jaune's not responsive to our calls. Raiden's going there as we speak… but it's clear they're making their move now."

"Jaune…" Indigo whispered.

"You didn't know?" Venom asked. He noted how her body language seemed to become slightly, but noticeably more erratic. Her hand closed and opened back and forth, and Venom saw the slightest signs of sweat running down them. "It's all over the news by now."

"I was busy training." Indigo said. "There's been a lot going on. I needed to clear my head to make my decisions."

Just then, a screen in the classroom turned on. It replayed the news broadcast over and over. "A plane has crashed in Downtown Vale, throwing the Kingdom into chaos. Deaths are expected to be over a hundred, with much more being injured. The Council has decided to place an emergency state on the Kingdom, and there are currently large-scale efforts by both the Hunters and law enforcement to find out the culprits. We have reached out to several parties for comments…"

Indigo stared, transfixed on the screen. Sooner or later, they'd be asked questions. Everyone in charge of security, Ozpin's faction or hers, would be asked the questions.

But that's not what irked her. No, it was the sheer scale of the destruction, how many people have suffered and will suffer, all done quickly right under their noses. And what's more, the possibility of those close to her suffering the same fate.

Her right hand began to thrum, but she forced it down. No, not in front of V.

"They're here now, and they're real." Venom said, attracting Indigo's attention once more. "We need to coordinate efforts with Ozpin and the others too. There's no way we're doing this alone."

"How did those traitors know, then?" Indigo whispered. "Enough for them to start escaping, but this is the first time you've told me…"

"This is the first time I've told anyone." Venom said. "I'm not sure how, but they've got some way to alert themselves. That's why we need to act now before they slip away."

"Act now, huh…?" Indigo closed her eyes, and her body immediately went still. All signs of the fatigue from her practice was gone, and instead the mask of calm that she was so known for slipping back on. Venom narrowed his eye. Something was bugging her, and he didn't know what. The question then became: would it impact their search?

Meanwhile, Indigo's mind was racing. They're escaping, an explosion in the middle of the city, and Jaune not picking up any calls. The stakes were high, and they needed to find out the enemy's plan.

The enemies ran because they knew. They were alerted…

They had connections…

But if they wanted to run, do desperately now, then one person was separated from that connection.

Indigo opened her eyes once more. She grabbed her sword and gave it to Venom. Without waiting for a reply, she spoke her orders. "Keep hold of this. I'll be needing it later, but for now, I won't need it."

"Understood." Venom took the blade and placed it on his hip. He looked back at Indigo, and noted the emotions that raged behind her calm mask. Something he never saw in her before. "So then, you have a plan?"

"Go on and tell the others. Ozpin, Ironwood, the likes, but give me a little bit of time." Indigo said. She turned back and walked out the doors. "There's someone that's long overdue for a visit."

As Venom watched Indigo leave, he noted the slight difference she carried herself. It was just a tad bit more expressive, like she had just a slight bit of her heart at her sleeves.

Well, as long as it worked out, he didn't think it was that big of a deal.

Venom quickly left the room and went the other direction from Indigo, going to alert Ozpin and his allies.

If he had stayed for just a while longer, he would've looked at the droid that was once closest to Indigo. And then, how its head was crushed with melted marks in the vague shape of a hand.

---

"You've found them?!" Ironwood shouted as he slammed a hand on Ozpin's table. "The traitors?!"

"Indeed." Venom nodded. He looked at every single person in front of him, here currently in Ozpin's office. Glynda, Ironwood, and Headmaster Ozpin himself. "One Team CMEN. Cinder, Mercury, Emerald, and Neo, planted here by Leonardo ever since the Vytal Festival two years ago."

"And where are they now, Mister Venom?" Ozpin asked. "Certainly, we must act quickly before they escape."

"That's the thing." Venom turned to look at Ozpin. "Somehow, they're already moving. They've found out that we've found out, and I don't doubt that the plane crash was because of that very same reason."

"Then we've no time to waste." Ozpin stood up, Glynda and Ironwood beside him in an instant. He took his cane and gripped its handle firmly. "Capturing the enemy is the first priority. Finding out how they knew can be determined later."

Ozpin turned to Ironwood. "General, I need you to place your troops on high alert. Have the Knights circle the city and alert you once they've been found. They might be hiding anywhere, and we can't risk a single stone unturned."

Ironwood turned to Ozpin and raised an eyebrow. "So this is, huh Oz? You're finally throwing subtlety to the wind."

"On the contrary, we could put this out as a safety precaution regarding the crashed plane." Ozpin said. "The Council has decided to enter the Kingdom into a state of emergency. The average civilian would certainly understand the actions we take. Subtlety is not out of the picture just yet."

"And the others…?" Ironwood trailed off.

"Will be dealt with when the time comes." Ozpin finished. He turned to his Deputy Headmistress. "Glynda, you and I must be ready to chase them down at a moment's notice. However, the campus must be fortified first and foremost. Not a single student leaves the campus. I'll leave that up to you, Glynda."

"I understand." Glynda nodded. "But Headmaster, regarding chasing them down… don't you think someone's missing? It's never just the two of us, after all."

"I've noticed that." Ozpin said in a low tone. He lowered his head. "Qrow…"

"I haven't been able to contact him in the past three hours." Glynda said honestly. "Scroll, pager, comm… he's completely off the grid."

"You think he's left?" Ironwood spat out. "Can't believe he went dark at a time like this."

"No." Ozpin shook his head. "I believe he will return. He must have a good reason, maybe even investigating them earlier. When the situation lights up… I'm sure he'll inform us. He's been loyal for this long, even for his nieces… and I appreciate his efforts."

"But for now, we'll just have to go about this without him." Ozpin's eyes hardened and he turned to Venom. "And what about you, Mr. Venom? What part will your operatives take?"

"We'll be managing our own strategies, but we'll help out whenever we can." Venom gave a short nod to the Headmaster. "The Arcs have just been informed as well. Raiden and Jaune are already out on the field. Not long before I am too. As for Tai…" Venom let out a breath. "He's already on the way."

"Don't-!"

Venom shot Ozpin a glare, shooting his argument down immediately.

Ozpin silently grit his teeth. Damn it, this wasn't the time to argue, was it? And if he truly did have to be involved, then so be it. Everything he ever did was for the safety of both humanity and Faunuskind.

"We'll be in touch." Venom gave a final nod and turned back, leaving the room to head to his ACC.

He had to prepare as well. And this time, he'd make sure he packed the necessary proverbial heat.

---

T: Qrow, it's me. Meet me at our old spot.

Q: About time you reached out. You don't really do secrets, Tai.

T: …

Q: Anyways. You comin' to Vale?

T: Yeah. Don't take too long, I'll be arriving soon. And don't tell anyone about where we'll be.

Q: Eh? Why not?

T: Things are fragile. We can't take risks.

Q: All the more reason to stick together, isn't it?

T: No, not this time, Qrow. We need to do this in one fell swoop. I can't have Ozpin interfere, now that he knows I'm coming.

Q: …What's in it for me?

T: I'll answer any questions you might have. All of them.

Q: …Fine then. I'll be waiting, Tai.

T: You'll understand… I know you will, partner.

---

Indigo Arc liked to be calm. She liked everything to be in an orderly fashion.

She liked to do things efficiently and get the job done above expectations.

Simply put, always in control.

As one of the best Huntresses in Vale and also the de-facto second-in-command of the Arc unit, she liked to have things go the way they planned. Victory was only sweet if they could keep it up, after all.

So seeing all this, she had to hand it to Venom and Raiden. They sure worked quickly. Just a single night, a single White Fang base raid, and already they have both Adam Taurus injured and also the traitor rooted out. In her mind, their investigative skills were almost superior to what she had done these two-and-a-half years. And their combat abilities were out of her realm of imagination. She wouldn't lie, they've probably already caught up with her and her family.

Once upon a time, she liked to think of herself as one of the Strongest. With it, she could be calm, collected, and calculating, and all from knowing she could take on what was to come.

But that was a long time ago. With the 'loss' of Jaune, the looming Beacon threat, and the arrival of people like Raiden and Venom, she had to reconsider her position. Train more, to reach new heights and keep up.

The Haven group were good, but Indigo refused to sit on the sidelines. She wanted to help, to stop whoever threatened Beacon and looked them dead in the eye as they realized they failed.

So when she first saw the clip of Jaune and NPR fighting, her mind immediately went to how she could catch up. Good for her, her Semblance, Arc Wave, allowed her to channel electricity to her swords. And following that train of thought, she trained day and night, trying to find the exact frequency those swords went at…

And then, just as she was on the cusp of discovery, Venom came to her with news of the traitor. And right after that, she heard the news about the plane crash.

Her mind was whirring with their names. Emerald. Mercury. Cinder. Nia. All under their noses the entire time, coordinating with forces outside Beacon to take them down from the inside.

Coordinating with outside forces…

She had no doubt they had plenty of allies, ones she was certain were being called to aid in their escape. They were on the backfoot now, desperately chasing phantoms, ones they truly needed to overtake to stop. And to overtake meant finding out more about their plans through someone other than them.

And for that, for someone who might know, Indigo just remembered that they already have one in their hands.

The one they, or more specifically Ironwood, already had captive.

Oh sure, he refused to crack no matter what Ironwood did. Claiming to know nothing, smartly keeping his mouth shut. And Ironwood, in the position that he was, couldn't do much without seeming like taking extreme actions to the rest of the Kingdoms.

Because like it or not, Roman Torchwick's reputation was a thief through and through. Using more extreme methods, and then exposing him as something more, would also mean they have to expose the secret war they had.

Indigo smirked as she walked down the hallways of Ironwood's place. But the Kingdom was in a state of emergency right now. Cinder was in the cusp of escaping, and she personally couldn't afford to risk any more lives. And besides, she and Ironwood were in different positions. She'd gladly take the blame if the government even dared to.

And with her new discovery, she was sure Roman Torchwick would crack.

All around her were Atlesian Knights that dutifully patrolled the halls. Once or twice, she'd see Ironwood's men, but they were much less present than the knights. If she had to guess, they were being called to assist Ironwood in locking the city down. That was fine with her. She's been hire a handful of times before, and so some of them had already recognized her, and she'd like to keep it that way. She needed what trust she had for the coming part.

With feet moving from muscle memory, she eventually reached Roman's cell. It wasn't much, but she could still imagine Roman sitting there with his face looking smug. An Atlesian soldier paired with a Knight stood beside each other, guarding the cell's entrance. They quickly noticed her approach.

"Miss Arc." The guard greeted her, hefting his weapon to the side. "We didn't hear any news for you to come here."

"No, you wouldn't. I decided to come here by myself." Indigo said. She looked at the guard dead in the eye. "The entire Kingdom's in lockdown. Have you heard?"

"Yes, and the General ordered us to stand here and guard the position." He said calmly. "Is something wrong?"

"No, no, quite the opposite." Indigo said. "But regarding the Kingdom's state, I believe Mister Torchwick has the answers."

"…We still need orders from the General, Miss." The guard said after a pause. "We can't just let you through."

"Soldier, we're on the same side." Indigo stressed. "Time is of the essence, and sadly I don't have a single second to spare to talk to Ironwood. I came here as fast as I could. I didn't even bring my weapons, see?" Indigo lifted her arms.

The soldier looked at her intently. Indeed, she didn't bring her sword, or any sort of weapon for that matter. And everyone knew Indigo never left her sword at home.

"I'm just here to talk to him, figure out what's happening." Indigo finished. "Or do you wish the fall of Vale to be on yourhead?"

The guard seemed to weigh in his options. Vale or Ironwood, Vale or Ironwood…

Dammit, it's just a talk, isn't it? The stakes for Vale were higher than he had ever trained for, and besides, what harm could be done in a simple talk? This was Indigo Arc, and she sure as hell didn't have a reason to ally with Torchwick of all people.

"…Fine." The guard relented. "But we still have to pat you down, Miss."

"Not a problem. Go on ahead."

The guard gave a short nod and checked Indigo for any hidden weapons. True to her word, she had no hint of any form of weapon on her body.

The soldier shook his head. 'The General's gonna kill me for this…' "You're clear, Miss." He stepped to the side. "Go on ahead."

"Thank you." Indigo gave a short nod and walked past the soldier-Knight duo, the door automatically opening and closing behind her with a clang.

The lights inside the room immediately turned on, and she could see Roman Torchwick lazily leaning against the wall across from her. His hands were cuffed in front of him, using the toughest of Aura-Suppressing cuffs.

"That door maybe airtight, but I could still hear someone coming from the other side, y'know?" Roman smirked. "Lots of people coming and going…. But of all people, I didn't expect it to be you, Arc"

"Save the sweet talk." Indigo dismissed. "I'm here for one simple thing."

"Oh? And that is?" Roman chuckled. "You know I'm not saying anything. Ironwood already tried-"

As Roman spoke, Indigo began walk closer to him, closing the gap.

"-He threw everything he had, even called in some favours-"

Indigo closed the gap even more. By now, they were standing less than two metres apart.

"-So then, what's different about you?" Roman finished with a twinkle in his eye.

Outside, Roman kept a cheerful demeanor. He was the gentleman thief, after all, and he had a reputation to protect. But inside, he was beginning to get nervous.

Something was different about Indigo today. She seemed much more serious than before, much more focused, and she wasn't rising to any of his baits…

Something must've happened, he realised. But with him being in a cell with no outside access, what could he know? Just had to play it cool, and hold out for as long as possible. He did it with Ironwood for a long time, after all, so there's no reason he shouldn't be able to do it with Indigo. After all, what's a few more days' worth of patiently sitting in cell?

Now, all he needed to do know was play his cards right and see if he could find out what happened exactly.

Indigo stayed silent, staring Roman right in the eyes. Her gaze was unwavering, unflinching, and static for minutes on end.

After so long, Roman felt his resolve chip away just a bit. Ah, but he can't have that, could he?

"Hmmm, what's with the lack of words today, Indigo?" Roman waved a hand. "You wanna ask something, right? You can't be here just to stare at my handsome face all day, after all-!"

In a flash, Indigo pulled out a picture of a woman and showed it right to Roman's face.A picture of someone he knew all. Too. Well.

"Do you know this woman?" Indigo asked.

"I-!" Immediately, Roman was at a loss for words. That was- that was Cinder! In the flesh! But how did-!

"Maybe some of these would jog your memory." Indigo pulled out other pictures and threw them to Roman's feet. Dreadfully, Roman looked down. His fears were confirmed.

The student ID photos of all of them were there. Emerald. Mercury. Cinder. Neo.

'Fuck-!'

"So?" Indigo asked again, and Roman's gaze locked back to Indigo's icy own. Involuntarily, he felt himself take a big gulp. Indigo shoved another photo in his face, a photo of Team CMEN. "These are Team CMEN, transfer students from Haven Academy. I want you to speak to me clearly. Do you know who these people are, Roman?"

Roman felt a single drop of sweat go down his back. "H-heh, what am I, some kind of stalker?" Roman averted his gaze and waved a hand to dismiss her. "You expect me to know who some random Beacon students are? I mean, c'mon, I remember Red, but that's just because we've met so often it's hard to keep count."

"Is that so?" Indigo turned away and put her hand in her pockets, dropping the last photo to Roman's feet.

She heard Roman chuckle nervously behind her, but Indigo's mind went back to her 'discovery'.

For a moment, she took the time to organize her thoughts.

Vale was a mess. Everything they had now was at stake. They were on the cusp of victory, catching the traitors, but only just. And in that possibility of losing, the shadows of what might happen continue to cloud her mind.

Her family, fractured forever. Jaune's death. Her protègès dying at the hands of people like Cinder Fall. The Fall of Beacon. Salem. Losing everything she ever had, again.

Her love, her hope, her anger, and all of her sorrow.

Indigo let out a breath and let her calm mask shatter.

Swiftly, her left hand shot of her pocket and sucker punched Roman in the gut, in the process bursting right through and destroying his Aura cuffs.

BAM!

"Agh!" Roman doubled over, clutching his stomach in pain. He felt the wind being knocked out of him, and with the cuffs broken he felt his arms go free. Aura rushed into his wounds. Damn, he felt some ribs being broken before Aura rushed in.

Roman looked up to Indigo's eyes, panic filled inside his. A sudden attack?! That was uncalled for! This was a violation-!

His blood chilled when he saw Indigo's eyes. Though her expression was calm, her eyes held an insurmountable amount of rage. 'What-?!'

As fast as a blur, Indigo pulled her right hand out of her pocket and lifted it high. With a roar, she lunged as fast as she could and grabbed Roman's head with her right hand.

BAM!

Then, with all the strength she had, Indigo began to squeeze.

"AAAAAAAH!"

Roman yelled in pain as he felt his head being torn apart. Then, he felt Indigo squeeze harder, piercing through his Aura, then felt burning heat and shocking electricity coursing all over his head.

Indigo grit her teeth and squeezed harder. Her right hand was glowing a bright blue, surrounded by numerous sparks of electricity and vibrating at an unimaginable frequency. It was like her Semblance was missing something as it went through her hand and not her sword, unnatural and forced. With so many vibrations, the hand reduced itself to a blur.

Indigo let loose and cast aside any form of self-control, piercing through Roman's Aura and forcing burn marks all over his head's skin.

"AAAAAAHHHHH!"

Indigo grit her teeth as she forced through any lingering regret she might've had. She always was a calm person, and she used that in her Semblance. Controlling the electricity to calmly precisely release at the tip of her sword, then aimed right for the enemy. But now, the stakes were much too high.

Mom, Dad. Her siblings. Pyrrha. Nora. Ren. Jaune.

Her love, her hope, her anger, and all of her sorrow.

She wasn't the strongest anymore. She wasn't sure. She was vulnerable. Those she loved might die.

Why?! Why wasn't she strong enough anymore?! Were they really all supposed to die here?!

For the first time in her life, she felt her anger peak.

And then, something new came from her Semblance. Her emotions were too wild for them and transformed to energy for Arc Wave, reaching currents she never reached before. It felt like letting loose of control she had so cultivated all her life. And with that, she let loose and let her emotions take her wherever it led.

The result was a raging yet improper release of electricity from her hand, vibrating at such a high frequency she barely withstood it herself. Moreover, any damage, any burn, and any electricity it emitted went through the enemies' Aura, though at the cost of her own Aura protection. But for Indigo, the risks didn't matter one bit.

Her hand glowed with power. Her heart cried out to save all she had. The soul manifested everything out, to give the enemy her purest form of emotion.

Indigo squeezed his hand harder around Roman's hand.

"AAAAHHHH!" Roman cried out. He desperately grabbed at Indigo's hand, but instead felt them burn as well. 'W-what is this-?!' Indigo squeezed her hand tighter, and Roman felt himself being charred. He felt blood coming out from the squeeze. His bones began to crack. He- he couldn't think! "GAAAAAAHHH!"

"Not yet! I'm not done just yet!" Indigo screamed through Roman's cries. "Roman Torchwick, I'll ask you again! DO YOU KNOW CINDER FALL?!"

"I- I DON'T KNOW HER -AGGHHHHH!"

"SAY IT AGAIN!" Indigo screamed in fury as she tightened her hold. She ignored every decibel of Roman's cries. "PUT YOUR HEART INTO IT AND LOOK ME IN THE EYE!"

Roman whimpered in fear as pain filled his senses. His head was being crushed, burned, and electrocuted all at once! But there was no way to stop it! Aura wasn't doing anything! He felt several squirts of blood shoot out more, heard another crack inside his skull, and his thoughts became even more jumbled.

He had to break free! Survive! 'The pain, the pain, I'm being crushed, PLEASE-!'

"ANSWER ME, TORCHWICK!" Indigo screamed, tightening her hold just a bit more. "ANSWER ME!"

All at once, Roman's resolve broke. He was going to die, he was going to die!

No, no!

"TORCHWICK!"

He can't-he can't give Neo up-!

"ANSWER ME!" Indigo gave one last squeeze.

Roman felt his skin char black, his entire head electrocuted, and all at once what remained of his resolve broke.

"F-FINE! I ADMIT IT! I KNOW THEM!" Roman cried. "P-PLEASE! STOP!"

"So it's true…" Indigo's grip loosened, but she didn't let go just yet.

Roman whimpered.

"Fine." Indigo loosened her grip, letting Roman fall to the ground in a broken heap. She let her calm mask slip back on as she looked to the thief in the room.

Aura began to heal his wounds immediately. But still, the damage was visible to all. Most of his hair had been burnt off. Scars in the shape of fingers were present, as well as burn marks from electricity. Aura might've eased the pain now, but it will never be enough to fade the mark.

Roman whimpered. 'The pain, it hurts, it hurts so much-.'

"So."

Roman's blood turned ice cold as he heard Indigo's tone once more.

He looked up and saw Indigo took a knee to see him face to face. Wordlessly, she pushed the photos on the floor to be right below him, right where he could look at their faces. For the first time, Roman felt himself break as tears threatened to come out. 'Neo, Neo, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry-!'

"Tell me all about their relations with you, Mister Torchwick."

---

Indigo nonchalantly walked out of the cell with notes in hand. By the time she got out, the guard was looking at her uneasily. He shot a glance behind her, saw the state the guard was in, and flinched. He almost felt his lunch come back out. What a nasty scar…

And then Ironwood came around the corner, heading right for the cell. "Soldier!" He shouted just as he saw him. "Open the cell ASAP-!"

Ironwood stopped once he saw Indigo exiting the very same cell he was about to enter. He shot a look to the guard again. "What's she doing here?!"

The guard stammered, out of responses to say. "S-sir-!"

"General." Indigo said calmly. She pulled out her notes and handed them to Ironwood. "These are the possible escape routes they might take. Please fortify them, thoroughly, and do it as soon as possible."

Ironwood took the notes and gave them a once-over. This- this was detailed! Exactly what he wanted to find out! "How did you find this?!"

Indigo's face was calm. Cold. With just a shake of her head, she brushed past Ironwood and walked down the halls as if nothing had happened.

Ironwood sighed. Once she was like this, it'd be harder to convince her to talk. Instead, he averted his attention to Roman's cell and the captor inside it.

He didn't particularly like what he saw.

Ironwood saw Roman kneeling on all fours on the ground, blood specks both on his clothes and also on the floor. Small tear marks can be seen, along with burnt-off hair paired with severe scarring around his head. The man was also sobbing quietly onto photos on the ground, ones Ironwood vaguely recognized as their suspects, Team CMEN.

Ironwood closed his eyes and let out a breath, feeling the paper notes in his hands. He was no stranger to torture, it was part of the Atlas Military after all. But still, to break a man so quickly, and so completely, it made him wonder just what she had done.

'Indigo… just what did you do?'

Meanwhile, Indigo walked away without a hint of regret in her heart. Drastic times called for drastic measures, after all. Once they got their victory, everything will be sweet once more, and she can finally rest easy.

And besides, Jaune got free reign to kill with his HF Blade, and even then they're all still in this predicament. If that's the case, then what's a little torture with her hands?

Roman's still alive, wasn't he? That was all that mattered.

Now, if she could just get to Jaune...

---

He screamed as he saw the closest thing to a family he knew being tortured around him.

A few hours ago, they tried to make an escape. Out of this cage that gave them nothing but pain day in and day out. Breaking their bones just to meet a daily 'quota' so those close to them wouldn't be harmed. Of course they wanted to leave! This was no way to live!

But they failed, hard.

One of the guards they trusted must've betrayed them.

And now, with the guards surrounding them from every side, the retribution was harsher than ever.

Each one was grabbed by a guard and then beat to the ground without mercy. His family tried desperately to shield him, to shield their precious child, but all that resulted in was him seeing them being beat with shouts of pain, and him not being able to do anything.

He felt tears leak from his eyes. No, why did they have to do this?! Why couldn't they have just left?!

"You think you could've escaped?!" a guardswoman shouted to one of the 'workers'. But calling them that would be much too positive. They were more slaves, with this place being officially off of the SDC's books.

The guardswoman easily slammed her baton to the workers' side, and the victim wailed as he felt his liver being smashed. The Faunus fell to the ground with tears, but the guardswoman didn't stop.

"Huh?! You think you could outsmart us with your silly little night-vision?!" The guardsman roared and stomped on the worker's head, rubbing her heel in as his jaw was shattered.

CRACK! CRACK! CRACK!

All around him, his 'family' was being beaten by batons that let out cracks with each impact. Just enough so they could work again tomorrow. Their screams filled his ears, and he felt himself being rooted to the spot. His horror-filled gaze spun everywhere, but there was no escape-!

Suddenly, he felt himself being grabbed from behind and lifted to the air. He desperately tried to wiggle free, but it was no use.

"Heheheheh… so you're the one who's behind all this, huh?"

He fearfully turned around and saw the vicious smile of the Dust mine's overseer. A particularly vicious man, with cruelty fit to keep order in a place that's off-the-books.

His eyes leered as he stared down the child in his arms. "I can see it, you little brat." The overseer said darkly. "They look into your eyes, and they get the hope that there's life out there. That maybe they can see skies that're as blue as your eyes."

"L-let me go, you creep!" The child yelled, squirming in retaliation. But he lacked the strength to break free. "Let us go!"

"Heh. Your words aren't helping too, y'know?" The overseer chuckled. "They hear your little 'speeches' and they get inspired to chase their dreams. They see your red hair, and they get the feeling that maybe their lives can burn as bright as your hair. They see you, and they see purity. Untouched by the truth of the world."

The child stared in horror as the overseer pulled something out of his pocket. The adult grinned evilly as he raised an 'SDC' stamp, its metals burning red from superheat. With a dark chuckle, he aimed it at the child's left eye.

"So then, I guess it's about time I remind them all that you're all mine!"

No! NO!

"AHHHHHHHH!"

Adam's shrill screams could be heard for miles as he became forever scarred.

---

Cinder stumbled through the sewers, leaning on the walls with one hand as she forced herself to keep going. It was dark, it was dank, it was smelly, it was silent, but most important of all, she knew it like the back of her hand. She had memorized it for this very occasion, and so even with the only light being the one from her Scroll, she knew exactly where she needed to be, where Emerald and Mercury were at.

Cinder pressed her hand to her stomach, right over the wound where HF Murasama was. She didn't have a good frame of time anymore, the wound being as painful as it was, but if she had to guess, she'd say it had been around fifteen minutes. And in that frame of time, she had gotten a good lead.

A pang of pain shot out from her gut, and Cinder grit her teeth in frustration. It was still bleeding, and her Aura was about to run out in just over a minute. Damn it, she needed to get to where the rest of CMEN was, and then get to the docks. They're escaping, there's no doubt about it!

Weakly, she pulled out her Scroll and accessed her control over the CCT's information networks. Its light shone brightly in the sewers, and Cinder had to narrow her eyes just to look at it.

She kept walking as she analysed the map from her Scroll.

It seemed like Ironwood was moving his Knights around the city, but that meant that those very same Knights were spread thin. The rest must've been covered with soldiers, though there are concentrated areas of Knights here and there…

'Wait a second.' Cinder paused. The spots they were focused on were almost exactly where their escape routes were. Granted, they were nowhere near exact, and even some covering ones that weren't being used, but to move like this meant they had some form of intelligence.

'How did they know?' Cinder thought. 'Someone must've talked…' The name was on the tip of her tounge, but her pain prevented her from thinking clearly. She kept on walking as she racked her brain. 'Who… Who…'

A gravelly voice spoke in front of her, sounding smug. "Having trouble?"

"Ngh…" Cinder looked up and saw the face of her male underling, standing tall in front of her. Of course, hedidn't need to use vision aids to see in such a dark sewer. His Faunus eyes could do it better than any night-vision could.

Then, Cinder's gaze shifted to the massive bandage covering his bare chest. "Surprised you came through after all. Are you ready?"

The speaker in question shrugged and pulled his bandage ever so slightly, revealing a glowing red contraption where a heart should be. Around it, massive stitches tried to cover a scar from a sword slash.

"They did the op fast." He said. "Managed to pull some tech from our stash and fit this in. But this put a strain on our budget. Not sure we have much tech left now."

Cinder groaned, but pushed herself back up. "Good. Remember our agreement. If anyone comes along, make sure they don't pass."

"Don't worry." Her associate growled. "No one's getting through. And you told me there was a good chance he'd be here, right?"

"Yes." Cinder gave a short nod. "Jaune must be chasing me down, I have little doubt of it."

"Then, in that case, this will all be worthwhile." Her associate turned around, and Cinder got a good look at the gunsheath-katana strapped to his hip. A whole new one, and yet it was still forged from the traces of his old sword. And when he put his hand to it, it seemed to glow a brighter red than ever before.

"Go." He said to her. He seemed to mount on something, but Cinder couldn't make it out…

"I'll do your damn job." He said bitterly. "And then… I'll avenge those that fell from his blade."

Cinder just barely managed to hold back a scoff, and then turned around and left.

Both of them knew they were just using each other. Not an ounce of sympathy from either side. But with the current condition, none of them cared. They'd take whatever means necessary to achieve their goals.

Cinder merely wanted to escape with those she deemed worthy.

He just wanted a rematch, and the purest form of revenge.

---

Echoing footsteps rang across the sewer, dirty water splashing every time Jaune's heel stepped on the dank sewer floor. But he didn't care one bit for discretion. Jaune ran as fast as he could through the almost totally dark sewer, hoping to catch Cinder before she got too far.

Unlike the last time he chased through a maze, this time Cinder left a clear trail of blood for him to follow. Granted, the amount of blood was diminishing as time went on, no doubt slowly healed by what was left of her Aura, but it still left a clear enough mark for him to see. The only problem was that the sewer was so dark Jaune felt like shadows were watching him. Add to that, it was really only wide enough for one person and a half. Did they never think to put in some neon lights? And what kind of sewer's this small?! Even the ones back in Denver were much bigger!

Jaune saw the trail marks lessen and then quickly increased his speed. She must be healing, but he could still catch her. Jaune rounded a corner. Just a bit more-!

FLASH!

A bright flash of light blinded him, like the brightness of a hundred sun. "Gah!" Jaune reflexively put his arm to cover his eyes. 'What's this now?!' Could it be Cinder, facing him head on? No, she couldn't that stupid-!

Vroom! VROOM!

The revs of an engine echoed loudly across the sewers, destroying the oppressing silence that once ruled it. And from the sound, Jaune could definitely pinpoint that the engine was right in front of him, in these very sewers. His confusion only grew. 'A motorcycle-?!' He had to take a good look.

Jaune slowly lowered his hand.

VROOM VROOM!

And then, just as he lowered his hand to look in front of him, the motorcycle shifted into gear and lurched forward with full acceleration.

VROOOOOOOOOOOMMM!

Jaune recognized the rider and took a step back, his right hand instantly going to HF Murasama. He growled. 'This guy-!'

The motorcycle rider growled and pulled his sword out from its sheath. He held it to the side and let it drag across the walls of the sewer. Sparks flew from the impact, and as the motorcycle went faster and faster, the blade began to glow a bright red from the rider's Semblance. Moonslice.

"JAUNNNNNNEEEEEEEEEE!"

Adam increased the speed of the bike and bared his teeth, getting closer to Jaune by the second.

Jaune let out a breath and steadied his breathing. He could quickdraw this. Just at the right moment!

Seeing this, Adam flew into more rage. He pulled back Flourishandlifted it high. With a roar, Adam channeled all of his Semblance, the blade glowing brighter than it ever did in his lifetime, and prepared to swing it with everything he had. "OAAHHHHHHHHHH!"

Jaune gripped HF Murasama's hilt with his right hand. "Come!"

"RAHHHHHH!" Adam swung Flourish in a wide arc and a bright red moonslice-shaped energy wave came right for Jaune. It covered the entire sewer diagonal, so there was no way for him to dodge. Jaune growled.

The energy came closer and closer…

'Now!'

Bang!

Just before the energy reached him, Jaune fired HF Murasama from its sheath and moved the sword to cut the energy in two. He's done it before, and he'll done it again-!

But then, when his HF Blade met the energy wave, he felt HF Murasama coming to a stop mid-slice.

'W-What?!' Jaune pushed his sword harder, fighting against the red energy, but it just wouldn't cut! "Damn!" He moved his sword instead to parry. Jaune yelled as he pushed back against the energy wave. It's starting to move away now-!

"RAH!"

'Shit!'

Adam was now upon him with engine-aided acceleration, and Jaune realized it too late. He swung Flourish right at Jaune's feet, and the force of the sword and the motorcycle was enough to shatter his guard. With a cry, Jaune fell and the Moonslice's energy attack hit his chest dead-on, piercing even through his armor-exosuit.

"Grk!" Jaune fell to the ground on his back, a large slice wound sprouting out blood as he fell. Adam looked behind him as he went past Jaune and pulled all the brakes on his motorcycle. The motorcycle skidded to the side, losing traction, and then crashed to the sewer floor taking Adam with it.

BAM! BAM BAM! SCREEEECHHHHH!

The motorcycle tumbled violently along the sewer floor, denting it in various spots, then eventually stopping a long way from where Jaune was. Adam yelled as he was thrown out of his seat, and then rolled hard on the floor with Aura taking the brunt the crash. His back hit the floor first, then his arms, then his head, and then finally his back.

He stopped a good few metres from Jaune, laying on his back too with Flourish by his side.

The motorcycle skid to a stop, its headlights finally pointing at Jaune from behind Adam.

Adam got up slowly and grabbed Flourish from beside him.

"Grk! Agh…" At the same time, Jaune groaned and stumbled, turning around to face Adam with his left hand covering his all-new chest wound. It was dripping fresh red blood to the sewer floor, and he had no Aura to heal it. He grit his teeth as he looked at Adam's back.

This time, the Faunus wasn't wearing his usual black vest. Instead, he only wore his black suit pants that went up to right after his belly button, his chest littered with bandages that covered the wound Jaune gave him back then.

Adam chuckled darkly and used Flourish to prop up his stand. "Heheheheh…."

Adam turned around, and Jaune could make out the cracks that covered his Grimm-like mask. It was only a matter of time before it cracked.

"You piece of shit…" Adam gave Jaune a dark, toothy smirk. "Finally got you, didn't I?"

Jaune looked at his position, still kneeling with a hand over his wound. His breaths were becoming short. Damn, he's gonna have to fight with this kind of wound, huh?

Lazily, Adam began walking to Jaune, with the tip of Flourish dragging along the sewer floor submerged in shallow water.

Jaune took a look at Adam's new sword. It had hints of his old sword, Wilt, and it seemed to glow brighter than the old one ever did. It pulsed with red light as it continued to be dragged.

"A-Adam Taurus…" Jaune breathed out. He kept a hand on his wound, still bleeding vigorously. "So…. Y-you've come back for more…?"

"Heh. You must be wondering how I caught up with you so fast, don't you?" Adam growled. "I bet you must be scratching that thick head of yours. So I'll tell you a little something"

The drags of Flourish became more prominent, the screech of metal-on-floor becoming more apparent. "The real world here… it's much different from life in the Academies." Adam said. "The man who loses the tournament match, he isn't the loser."

Adam growled. Each step of his black shoes was partially submerged in shallow, dirty sewer water. "The man who breaks his conviction first… he's the one who truly loses."

Jaune growled, and Adam finally reached him.

"Huh? Don't you think so, Jaune?" Adam taunted.

Jaune flinched as he attempted to stand, his wound still bleeding. He clenched his jaw in frustration.

Looking at the way Jaune was now… Adam's hand went to his mask. His fingers traced its cracks, and his expression quickly twisted with rage. With a scowl, he lowered his hand and balled it into a fist.

"In the real world, there's no 'Aura in the red', Jaune." Adam said with a scowl. "No ringing bell to save your skin. So let me tell you something those Huntresses could never understand." Adam said determinedly.

"No matter how many pieces you shatter my sword. How many body parts I lose. How little beats my heart makes. As long as I'm not dead… I'll keep coming back." Adam said firmly. "This sword was made with the remnants of Wilt. And with it, it absorbed the attack that shattered my old blade."

Jaune couldn't answer.

Adam continued his speech. "Being chased down by 'law' on all sides… Blake and RWBY's so-called 'justice'… Working under some fiery bitch!" Adam began to lift his sword high. "We've suffered through slavery and torture just to get to where we are, and now, some privileged human who could kill us all without consequences would be the end of us?!" Adam gripped Flourish with both his hands and lifted it over his head. "I won't have it! SOMEONE WHO'S HAD IT EASY LIKE YOU, IS THE ONE THING I CAN'T STAND!"

Adam quickly let rage consume him and focused his Aura. "YOU'RE DONE FOR, JAUNE ARC!"

Adam yelled and brought Flourish down with its brightest red glow.

'Now!' Jaune crossed his hands above his hand, right one up, just before the blade hit his head.

CLANG!

The blade stopped, and both Jaune and Adam entered a stalemate with fury in each other's gaze.

Adam Taurus

General of The White Fang Valean Branch, a Menagerie White Fang Subsidiary

"Hoooaahh!" Jaune pushed against Adam's blade and kicked him away. The impact sent Adam stumbling back on his feet, groaning in pain.

"Grk!" Adam skid to a stop and twirled Flourish in his hand. Jaune stood up straight and drew HF Murasama, fighting through the pain in from his chest wound. He deployed his mask and looked at Adam, ready for their oncoming fight.

It was Adam who decided to attack first. His blade glowed red, and he swung at Jaune from his left. Jaune quickly chambered the attack and went for a stab at Adam's neck. Adam ducked and let Murasama fly past his red hair. Before Jaune could pull back, Adam slammed his shoulder at Jaune's open chest wound.

"Grk!" Jaune took a step back, dazed, the wound stinging. He shook his head and refocused on Adam once more.

"Take this!" Adam rushed in at Jaune, Flourish telegraphed for a strong right swing. Jaune lifted his sword and prepared to parry.

Adam saw this and fainted mid-swing, letting Jaune's parry miss. Shocked, Jaune saw Adam shift and going in for a kick. Jaune let go of HF Murasama and met Adam's kick with his own. With both their feet sent back, Adam roared and went for a lunge with Flourish at Jaune's throat. Jaune grabbed HF Murasama mid-air in a back grip and spun. The blade missed his throat by milimetres, and with Adam wide open, Jaune went low and took a swing at his legs.

"Gah!" The blade cut right at his knees and forced Adam to kneel. Jaune quickly went in for a strike to Adam's head, but the Faunus quickly activated his Semblance and slashed at the area in front of him.

"Damn!" Jaune parried the energy, skidding back as the energy was sent to the ceiling. Bits of dust rubble descended from the impact, and Jaune saw Adam already back on his feet. The Faunus's Aura had already begun to heal the wound. Jaune grit his teeth and prepared to strike again. In such a small space like this, he didn't have much room to dash around.

'He's gotten faster, too!' Jaune noted. 'Something's changed.'

A pang of pain in his chest.

And he still had to mind his injuries…

With that all in mind, Jaune readied HF Murasama for Adam. Time to remember the basics, pure swordsmanship for now.

Adam scowled and began another attack rush. He roared and lunged low, launching a swing from Jaune's right. Jaune saw the attack coming and parried it easily.

Adam skid back, thrown off by Jaune's defense. He quickly launched another attack, this time a straight pierce with Flourish aiming for Jaune's chest wound.

Jaune stepped and turned to the right, letting the sword fly past right where his heart was. He felt his back hit the sewer wall. Adam's eyes followed Jaune and quickly shot to his cornered position. With a roar, he turned his grip on his sword, took a step toward Jaune, and slashed wildly for Jaune's neck. "RAAAGHHHH!"

Jaune noticed Adam and Flourish coming and ducked down quickly. The blade hit the wall, sparks flying from metal-on-metal contact.

Screeech!

'He's open!' As the blade flew above his head, Jaune quickly threw an uppercut for Adam's gut with his right hand. Adam noticed this and caught Jaune's fist with his own. Jaune roared and pushed more, eventually breaking past Adam's guard with his mechanical strength.

"Gah!" Adam was forced back, stepping back until hitting the wall of the sewers himself. His back bounced against it in shock. Then, he saw Jaune launching from his own wall with HF Murasama.

Jaune yelled as he soared, slicing with HF Murasama to cut Adam down from his right shoulder.

"Rargh! Adam lifted his sword and blocked HF Murasama. Activating his Semblance, Adam quickly absorbed the impact to Flourish. Jaune roared and didn't let up, pushing past and breaking Adam's guard.

Adam groaned as he was forced to step back, and he felt his back pressing against the wall. He saw Jaune going for a low-rising slash from his left. Quickly, he jumped to the side just before the blade reached him. As soon as he landed, he used his Semblance and swung out another bout of Flourish's energy. Jaune saw it coming and easily stepped back, letting the impact hit the bare wall.

Crack… crack!

The sewers shook once more, small pebbles of debris falling on Jaune's hair as he readied himself again. As he expected, Adam immediately lunged at him relentlessly.

'More stamina too?' Jaune thought. 'Relentless. Something must be aiding him.'

Jaune narrowed his eyes and sheathed HF Murasama. Just as Adam was above him, he quickly unsheathed it and smashed Adam's blade away.

Clang!

Adam skid back, not expecting Jaune's attack. As he came to a stop and water splashed behind him, he saw Jaune dash for him while firing HF Murasama out if its sheath.

Adam roared and readied Flourish, activating his Semblance. Jaune swung down as he reached Adam, their two blades meeting each other head-on.

A loud clang sounded, echoing from the metal walls, and the impact resulted in shockwaves that shook the sewers even more. Pebbles of rubble descended from the sewer ceilings, going right between their gazes.

They both grit their teeth as one fought the other for control. Jaune grit his teeth as he saw Adam's blade glowing, ready to unleash even more energy. This guy, doesn't he need to take a breather?! Just what kind of meds was he on?!

Adam yelled and began pushing back against Jaune. With a final pulsing red glow, Adam used Flourish to unleash Moonslice directly against HF Murasama.

"ARRRRRCCCC!"

'Duck!' Jaune quickly followed his instincts and gave up his block. Then, he immediately ducked below Adam's sword as it slashed right above him.

Fwooooommm!

The resulting energy wave was large, slashing right where his neck was and soaring well past that spot.

'Now!' Jaune took a step forwards and entered the area behind Adam. He immediately spun around, slashing with HF Murasama for Adam.

However, Adam was aware of Jaune's moves. Before he could cut Adam down, the Faunus had already followed his movements and blocked his sword. Their blades met once more and they both growled.

They fought for control once more, and then Jaune's eyes trailed to the spot behind Adam. He caught sight of the Moonslice attack Adam previously sent. It didn't dissipate as it continued to soar, flying until eventually reaching the bike Adam previously rode.

Jaune's eyes widened in realization. 'No!'

The energy hit the bike dead-on and resulted in an explosion that shook the entire sewer.

BOOOMM!

Jaune saw Adam's bike exploding behind him, engulfing the area behind him in an orange light. He heard the faint sounds of rubble crumbling down, and then his eyes quickly shot back to Adam. The explosion's wind blew against Adam's hair, making his growl all the more apparent.

And then, as the explosion faded and the only source of light was extinguished, the sewer became pitch dark for Jaune.

Adam forced past Jaune once more, overcome with anger. "YOU LITTLE BRAT!"

'Shit! Focus!' "Hyah!" Jaune ducked once more, slipping past Adam and sliding himself to a stop a good distance away for safety. Jaune turned around and looked up right in front of him.

"JAUNNNEEEEE!"

Jaune saw four glows of red lunge for him with incredible speed. Two of them, Adam's eyes behind his mask. One, where his chest was. And the last dot, a long red line. His eyes, his…. heart enhancer? And his sword.

But that was enough for him to figure out a strategy.

'Ah, so that's how he's keeping up.' Jaune thought. He thought back to all the strategies Adam did for this encounter. Especially going at him alone….

Jaune smirked.

'…Well played.'

Jaune readied HF Murasama and entered the Rodrigues stance, its own straight red glow parting his vision in two. He lowered his mask and beckoned Adam forth.

"Come, Adam Taurus!"

"HOAHHH!"

Clang! Clang! Brzzt! Clang!

For strangers, all they could see were stroked of red light smashing each other. With each impact came red electric sparks. Swift steps could be heard, but it was too dark to truly see anyone. But this wasn't the case for the two people fighting with their lives. They could see just fine.

"Hyah!" Adam went in for a high, descending strike. Jaune parried the blade and chambered with a strike of his own for Adam's neck. Adam ducked in time with the blade just barely cutting his hair, and then launched a lunge for Jaune's wound. Jaune parried the attack with his sword and immediately went in for a strike at Adam's heart.

"Take this, Taurus!"

Adam saw this and quickly released an energy bout from Flourish. 'Damn!' Jaune saw this too late and the energy hit his mechanical right arm. HF Murasama went flying out if his grip, planting itself behind him.

With Jaune's guard down, Adam roared and lifted his sword once more. He concentrated all the Aura he had left, all the strikes he had absorbed, into one final energy strike. "YOU'RE DONE FOR, JAUNE!"

With a roar of a mighty bull, Adam swung his sword down with both of his hands.

But Jaune didn't falter. He narrowed his eyes and stood his ground.

"HOAHHHHHHHHHH!"

Jaune's eyes followed the light of the blade coming down. And there, coming in from his right, was the blade shining brighter than a thousand suns.

"Hmph!" Jaune lifted his right hand and parried the blade, stepping forwards as he did so. He felt his mechanical arm being torn, but kept pushing as the blade slid on metal-to-metal contact.

SCREEEECHHH!

Sparks skid from Flourish and Jaune's right arm. But he didn't care….

And now, with his final step, he was right in Adam's face.

Adam's eyes widened as he realized his mistake, his guard and his sword wide open.

"RARGH!" Jaune punched Adam with all his suit's power right where his heart enhancer was.

"A-Ack!" Adam stumbled back, his entire body growing weak as it began to short-circuit. Flourish fell from the ground, and now, he was all out of Aura from that last attack too?! There's nothing to protect him now! 'H-he pushed through-!'

"HYAH!" Jaune didn't let up and struck his knee at Adam's heart enhancer. A decisive move!

Adam howled in pain, but Jaune gave him no mercy.

"HAH!" A punch to the gut. "RARGH!" A kick to his neck. "HYAH!" A knee to his liver!

Adam's body began to bleed from the attack, his hands weakly going to his heart enhancer. An exosuit against weakened flesh, every attack was certainly fatal. But he couldn't react anymore. He weakly stumbled back as Jaune lowered his knee. "A-ah…"

"ADAAAAAAAM! Jaune lunged forwards with his left hand and grabbed Adam by the head. With a final roar, he pushed Adam's head down and slammed it to the sewer floor.

CRASH!

The sewer lightly shook from the sheer force of the impact.

And then, with a final breath, Adam's body fell limp.

Jaune let out a breath too, and heard several cracks forming from the outside of Adam's head. Must've been his mask…

True enough, mixing with the shallow sewer water, several crumbs of his destroyed Grimm-like mask floated away. There would probably be more to come, then.

Jaune gave one more look at Adam. His body didn't respond anymore. He was out cold, with various bleeding wounds that definitely required immediate treatment lest it be fatal.

Jaune let out another breath.

'It's over.'

He loosened his grip on Adam's head and stood back up. Jaune flinched when the wound stung as he stood straight. Weakly, He lifted his hand to the open wound. Several drops of blood dripped out, staining the shallow sewer water below.

"Grk!" Jaune clenched his jaw. The pain on his chest was still evident, but the adrenaline managed to push him through right until. But he didn't think he could go on like this….

Jaune felt the edges of his vision blur, ever so slightly. Jaune internally groaned. Medical attention was mandatory, it seemed.

Jaune turned around and grabbed HF Murasama. He shone the sword's dim light to his right hand first. Completely destroyed, cut to a spiral-like shape with sparks bursting out. Then, he shone the light to the path he just went out through. Rubble completely blocked the path back, undoubtedly falling from the explosion of Adam's bike before.

Jaune took a deep breath, feeling his wound dripping more blood. He had to get out of here. But damn it, Cinder was still out there! He couldn't possibly let Pyrrha's efforts go to waste! So then, what should he do?

His grip tightened on HF Murasama. But nevertheless, pushing through or not, there was still one thing he could do. Right here, right now.

His thoughts were confirmed when he heard his opponent's voice speak up once more. "D-Damn brat…!"

'Adam.'

Jaune turned around, withdrew his mask, and slowly walked to Adam. As he got closer, he could see Adam clearer and clearer even through the dark. Before he did what he deemed necessary, Jaune decided to take a good look at his opponent.

The mask Adam so often wore was broken in two, and yet its left side remained intact. Without his Semblance, Jaune now saw that Adam's eyes were a bright blue, a deep forehead wound leaking down viscous red blood from Jaune's smash. The heart enhancement he wore was short-circuiting, his chest partially submerged in water making it all the more useless. Without that device's help, Adam's muscles had clearly deflated, his skin turning pale with sweat covering every visible part of his body. Even more so, he had no more Aura to help him heal. It was already a challenge to stay awake, so him growling right now was frankly a wonder.

Adam bared his teeth and met Jaune's eyes defiantly, unwilling to give up for even a second.

And yet, Flourish laid beside him uselessly. They both knew it would be useless to try anymore.

Adam growled, his blue eye staring into Jaune's own blue. "Y-You asshole!"

Jaune looked on silently, HF Murasama thrumming by his side. His eyes became cold and calculating, assessing everything that was.

Last time, he had hesitated. He didn't decide quickly enough, and the result was clear as the wound on his chest.

The cost was now apparent. Even more so, the possibility of him fighting back against Cinder and her team had been lessened. He felt his energy slowly leave him by the second, not to mention his broken right arm, and if it weren't for Adam maybe he'd had finished what he had to do with Cinder by now. Killed them all and saved Beacon.

Made sure Pyrrha's sacrifice wasn't for naught.

Adam grit his teeth as he saw Jaune's cold eyes concluded a moral dilemma. But still, there remained one thing that he had to ask. One thing that differed from the last time they fought.

"…Where are your soldiers, Adam?" Jaune asked coldly.

"I'll…." Adam coughed. "If it's them you're looking for, then I'll never give them up. No matter what you put me through, I'll never break." He swore.

"And why's that?" Jaune asked. "You had such an easy time killing innocent lives. If they were here, surely they'd bail you out. So what makes your men so indispensable? So different from those you killed?"

"I could ask you the very same!" Adam indignantly shouted.

Jaune stayed silent, willing to let Adam talk. The Faunus' eyes burned with fiery rage lit anew.

"You… You! You have a body count in the thousands, and yet they hail you a hero?!" Adam shouted. "H-have you ever felt… being beaten to an inch of your life?" Adam struggled to breathe, but his rage forced him through. "Working day and night just for a rotten slice of bread?! Watch powerlessly as those close to you die, chasing the promise of freedom they never had a chance of attaining in the first place?!"

"The pain of yesterday doesn't justify the acts of today."

"BULL! SHIT!" Adam roared. "The past always matters! We tried doing peace, and they wouldn't listen! And when we act out with the same degree of violence, they label us the villains and theirs the heroes! Where's the equality in that?!"

"…"

"You've had it easy… you've all HAD IT EASY!" Adam roared at Jaune's silence. "Don't you open your mouth and lie to me, Jaune! When RWBY stops us, they'll get a slap on the wrist no matter how many laws they break! So much for equal laws, right? And when times are too hard, you'll run and call it a tactical retreat. But for us, we'll be chased down no matter how hard we try. Be peaceful and they'll brush us off. Give the same treatment and they'll call us the villains?! How is that equal?!"

"No Faunus is truly safe, you hear me?! You'll hide under the umbrella of no killing, of noble, peace-loving Hunters, but when we're tossed to jail, our fate is even worse. Tortured by mere association, doomed to a cage until we die because death is too 'cruel'. There's no easy way out in the real world. No Vytal Tournaments, no 'Aura in the red', and certainly no professor to hide behind! And even if you had to kill, you'd call it 'necessary evil.'"

"So what choice do we have? We can't even be with people who make us feel belonged, who see us for what we are! How else can change come, Jaune?! Change will not happen through sweet words and peaceful lies! There must be an effort! There must be blood spilled, and I'll die before it's any of ours any longer!"

An icy shield covered Jaune's eyes. So, that's how it is.

On some level, he understood. Once upon a time, he wanted to help the world too.

But then Armstrong, Raiden, Leonardo…

Jaune looked to Adam and one thought rang in his mind over and over. If he had the chance to kill his mercenary, mass-murdering Desperado self, would he do it?

That person would murder anyone without a care in the world. Everyone was a target of his bloodlust.

And unfortunately, for all the good Adam spoke, he wouldn't hesitate for his friends, his family, or for anyone else.

The answer was yes, and that alone was the deciding factor.

He lifted HF Murasama high, staring into Adam's eyes.

Adam clenched his jaw and continued looking up defyingly. No matter what happens, he'll never give his men up. And if the price was his life, so be it.

Jaune silently brought his sword down on Adam's head…

And that's when his CODEC blared to life.

"Jaune, it's Indigo. Status report."

Jaune's sword stopped just less than an inch from Adam's hair.

He closed his eyes as he forced back a somewhat-peaceful reply. "Indigo. This better be important, sis."

"What are you doing right now?"

"I'm just about to finish something that's long overdue." Jaune said simply. He opened his eyes and looked back at Adam' own. "I'm correcting my mistake."

"Mistake… you mean Adam?"

His silence was telling to Indigo.

"No, Jaune." Indigo said simply. "We need him alive."

"What?" Jaune let out a humourless laugh as he turned away from Adam. "Oh you have got to be kidding me. I've just finished hearing the rantings of a madman and you want me to let him go?"

"I never said that." Indigo quickly responded. "I only said that we needed him alive. We're scarce on intel, and any drip we can get would be useful to aid and confirm Cinder's capture. Abort your chase in the sewer and bring Adam to us."

"So? He's still a threat." Jaune told his sister. "And you want me to give up the chase? I'm right on their heels!"

"Jaune, Raiden told me your vitals are low." Jaune grit his teeth. Damn it! "Abort the chase and go back to Beacon. We've fortified the exits, now all we need is to find which one they're getting out from exactly."

Jaune growled.

"You're in no shape to chase Cinder down." And that was the dilemma right there, wasn't it? "And then what would I say to Pyrrha?" That was a low blow, sis…

And one Jaune begrudgingly admitted was working.

"We need Adam here to extract information, to compensate for you not chasing them anymore." Indigo said. "Once that's done, victory will be sweet."

"So you're letting him remain a threat, even under lock-up?!" Jaune screamed.

"I said bring Adam back. I never said anything else." Indigo said monotonously. "Neutralise a threat however you wish. I'll be waiting."

Indigo ended the call with a click.

And now, with that final call, it all made sense to Jaune.

Adam's rage had been true indeed, then… a far worse fate was waiting for him.

One both of them knew was coming.

Jaune sighed. He never did like torture. A part of him lamented Adam's wasted potential. Such a shame he never had a chance to grow. And now, the twilight of Adam's development. It wasn't like he would suddenly change anytime soon.

With his back still to Adam, he spoke again to the Faunus. The difference was… a somewhat softer tone.

Jaune closed his eyes. "I understand." He said simply.

Now, it was Adam's turn to stay silent.

"Maybe it isn't fair for you, to have lived out your days like that with justice never coming. To see your compatriots rotting away, and then being blamed for striking back. To see others have it easy while you tried as hard as you could…"

Jaune let out a breath. "But that's not the way life works." He shook his head and turned around, his eyes meeting Adam's. "You can't take your anger out on everyone, especially innocent lives."

"All the humans had it easy!" Adam yelled back in frustration. "Why be selective?! If they're so innocent, if they truly cared for equality and wanted to change with peace, then why didn't they lend a hand and helped us when we begged them for it?!"

"For that." Jaune said firmly. "You'll have to figure out for yourself."

Silence.

.

.

"Are you…" Adam spoke with wide eyes, shock tracing his voice. "You're letting me go?!"

.

.

Silence.

.

.

But for Adam, Jaune actions spoke louder than words.

He looked on with shock as Jaune sheathed back HF Murasama. Then, without another word, he calmly walked past Adam's prone position.

"Y-you'll regret this!" Adam shouted as Jaune walked past. "I swear! The next time we meet, I'll kill you where you stand!"

Jaune stopped in his tracks, the final step echoing across the sewer.

"S-screw the others!" Adam shouted with rage. "Cinder, The Arcs, Beacon, Blake, fuck them all! The next time I come back, I'm gunning for you first, and only you, JAUNE ARC!"

More silence.

Then, Adam heard a dark chuckle that raised the hair on his skin.

"Heheheheh… See, Adam?" Jaune turned around and gave him an evil smirk filled with malice delight, like he saw a free gift fall into his lap. "That's the spirit."

Before he could react, Jaune had blurred and appeared behind him. Adam couldn't even take another breath, and he immediately felt his head being slammed against the sewer floor once more.

Adam's world went dark, and Jaune took a step back. He unsheathed HF Murasama and lifted it high above his head to slice down at Adam's unconscious body.

"HOAHHHHHHH!" The yell echoed in the lonely sewers, loud and full of finality.

With a final scream, he brought his sword down and severed Adam's legs.

---

"You sure this is a good idea, Rubes? Ozpin told us the campus is in lockdown."

"I don't care anymore, Yang. We have to act. All of us."

"But what if the traitor's someone we know?"

"…We'll get to that later."

"I hate to agree with the Dunce, but she's right. If you saw Jaune's urgency… this is a matter we can't afford to step aside on. I won't stand by either as Beacon is destroyed. Not while I could still do something about it."

"Alright then, Weiss-cream. I already told you I'm in. And… I don't want Ruby to end up like- like…"

Silence stretched on, because no words were truly needed.

"Y-Yeah, like her. But still… any news on Blakey, Weiss?"

"She finally answered her Scroll, at least. Said she'll meet us by the bookstore. Said she met someone important that needed her help, and only managed to finish it just now. Whether she'll hold her word or not… we'll see."

"Fine… let's go, then. The profs haven't checked out near here in a while. We should slip by fast."

"Yeah… let's go, Team RWBY."

---

"Headmaster, the campus has been locked down. Almost every student has been accounted for, and Atlas' soldiers are being dispatched, some even diverting from their Black Site."

"Good. That means General Ironwood is serious… but as for the 'almost', Glynda?"

"…Team RWBY and the remnants of JNPR are unaccounted for."

For the first time in her life, Glynda heard Ozpin swear.

---

Three Hours Later…

It had been a few hours since they made their escape. This current section of the sewers was as close to the docks as they could get, barring a few metres to the exit proper. Now, the only thing left to do was to wait for nighttime, and then leave as soon as it was.

As soon as the first hour had passed, it was clear to Cinder that no one had followed her here, to her little hidey-hole. Good. It seemed Adam had done his job, and shook Jaune off her tail.

But still…

"Ngh…" Cinder groaned as he leaned against a sewer wall. "Emerald… what's the time?"

Her loyal subordinate opened her Scroll and checked, standing right beside Mercury. "It's 20:00, ma'am."

"Hah…" Cinder let out a breath and slid down the wall, her hand covering he gut. They had hastily covered the wound with makeshift bandages, some even going out to Emerald's wound as well, but it still hurt pretty bad. Good for Emerald, she had her Aura to expedite the process. Cinder? She had to deal with it the long and hard way.

It was Mercury who spoke up next. "So… we're going now, boss?"

"Check the map, Mercury." Cinder groaned. "Open up- Ngh… Open up the map for Ironwood's Knights distribution."

Mercury did as he was told and read his findings out to Cinder. "Our planned exit's covered by six Atlesian Knights, all surrounding the exit manhole with cover to support them. They're in a diamond formation, with middle-class weapons and design."

"Good…" Cinder whispered. "That means there aren't any soldiers there… how long until they rotate the guards?"

"45 minutes, ma'am."

Cinder gave a slow nod. Then, they were greeted by the sound of glass cracking. An illusion broke, and Neo appeared among them.

Cinder turned weakly to Neo. "So? Did you find Roman?"

Neo shook her head fiercely.

"So they got him…" Cinder concluded.

Neo's expression turned to anger. 'This was all YOUR idea!' She furiously signed. 'Now he's locked up somewhere where we can't find him!'

"Regardless. We must escape." Cinder put her foot down. "Splintering will only cause the failure of the mission… and that'd be against my interest, Neo."

Neo huffed, crossing her arms leaving one hand to sign. 'You go on ahead, then. I'm staying.'

Cinder stood up, all signs of pain forgotten as she glared furiously at the ice-cream-themed thief. "Neo-!'

Neo rolled her eyes and signed some more. 'I'll keep in touch, don't worry. But Roman and I are a packaged deal.' She met Cinder's eyes defiantly. 'Your Boss or not, Cindy.'

Cinder met Neo's gaze with equal strength. This brat was going to jeopardize the entire mission! Let her feelings get in the way!

But still… Cinder supposed she'd be a hypocrite, then. If it was The Boss, she wouldn't leave either, would she?

And now, it was her that was coming to help them all.

Eventually, Cinder relented with a shake of her head then. "Fine then. But remember."

She grabbed Neo's arm and gave it a tight squeeze, giving Neo her most sincere threat. "Do not get caught. And if you do, I will silence you no matter what cell you're trapped in. You and Roman."

Neo broke free of Cinder's grip and scoffed. With another illusion, she was gone.

Cinder sighed, feeling a migraine coming on. "Good. With that out of the way, we move now…" She took a step forwards but stumbled. Emerald was quick to catch her and sling her arm over her shoulder.

"Come on, ma'am, I've got you. Point the way." Emerald said. "Let's go."

Cinder shot Emerald an appreciative glance. "Emerald… Thanks."

Emerald felt herself crack a smile. It felt good to be appreciated…

"I'll take the lead." Merucry said, and he secured the path forwards for them both. Eventually they reached the final manhole. Right before they exited, Cinder made sure to check her Scroll one last time.

The Knights still haven't changed. Good.

With quick taps, she disabled the hostility of the Knights right above them. Giving final nods to her compatriots, they climbed the exit and stepped out of the manhole. True to the hack, the Knights had stood down, their weapons aiming to the ground.

With proper nighttime came less light to shine on them. And with that, less possibility of being noticed and people to notice. Emerald helped Cinder out of the exit. "We need to move. They're only disabled for a set amount of time." Cinder urged. Quickly, they closed the manhole behind them and walked the street with urgency.

The docks, the docks…

"Over there!" Emerald whisper-shouted. She pointed forwards, and indeed, they had finally arrived at the edge of where the docks began, complete with visible shipping containers.

"Finally…" Cinder let out. With synced steps, the three snuck their way into the docks properly.

"Over there." Cinder pointed to a docking bay. They were just a few metres short now. They could already smell the aroma of the ocean. "There's a sub, enough to fit both of us. We just need to get in, and we'll be home free."

Mercury and Emerald gave understanding nods, but the male seemed somewhat uneasy.

"What's wrong, Mercury?" Cinder asked. "…Is there something off?"

"I've got this weird feeling, boss." Mercury said. And indeed, once he mentioned it, Cinder felt it too. The place seemed almost too empty. Too easy. Too convenient. "It's just… where's Atlas?"

"You're right." Cinder realized. "Something's definitely up-."

Then, they heard a shout that stopped their hearts. "STOP RIGHT THERE!"

"Shit!" The trio immediately readied their weapons and prepared to fight. And then, from behind and above the shipping containers, four familiar individuals popped out to swarm them all.

They stood ready for a fight with stances and weapons ready, footing firm from all four sides. Left, right, front, and behind.

Red, White, Black, and Yellow.

"Cinder Fall!" Ruby shouted. Her voice echoed through the night as she readied Crescent Rose behind her, her silver eyes glinting bright through the darkness. "Stand down and face justice! We won't ask twice!"

Cinder grit her teeth. Of course they'd have to interfere. But still…

Her eyes glanced to Emerald and Mercury. Between the three of them and the four of RWBY, they could still make a reasonable escape. She's trained hard, and them as well. Their legacy won't stop here.

But Ruby wasn't done talking, and the reality of who exactly the traitor was began to seep through.

"Why… Why?!" Ruby shouted. Cinder saw her grip on Crescent Rose begin to waver slightly as her resolve shook. "Why'd you do it?! What could you gain by destroying Beacon?! How could you, Cinder?!"

Cinder stayed silent and stared into Ruby's eyes unflinchingly.

"Did all this time mean nothing to you?! Did you just play us like we were nothing?!"

Weiss, Yang, and Blake exchanged brief but worried glances. Nevertheless, they kept their weapons ready.

"…The Hunters are nothing but a false dream." Cinder said simply.

"…What?"

"Look around you." Cinder said. "I'm your opponent now… but was I ever before? The times change, and yet the Hunters remain the same. Always tied to Ozpin."

Ruby grit her teeth. That damn backstabber!

Yang saw Ruby's muscles tense as her grip on Crescent Rose strengthened from fury. The others saw it as well, and yet Ruby issued no commands. Was this it-?!

Cinder herself took a step back, her back meeting Emerald's and Mercury's. That got her riled up. And now, they sure knew what to do.

Blake was the first to realise this. "Ruby, no-!"

FLASH!

A bright flash of light blinded them all, and it didn't come from Team CMEN or any of their allies. It came from another direction, straight from the oceans of Vale from a third party.

The third party.

"CINDER FALL! LOWER YOUR WEAPONS AND STAND DOWN! NOW!"

Their eyes began to adjust to the light. Everyone groaned at its sheer brightness, but even through the light, they could recognize several things.

Vroom...

For one, Blake's ears twitched as she heard the sounds of military ships approaching. And then, the sound was accompanied by distant Bullheads quickly approaching them. Her Faunus eyes quickly adjusted to look at the speaker. He seemed vaguely familiar…

And second, for Ruby and Yang, they recognized the voice clear as day.

'D-dad…?'

The sisters' eyes quickly adjusted to the light, and they looked out to the ocean.

There, smack dab near Cinder's submarine, was Tai on a military boat branded for Haven. He held a megaphone in his hand, bandages covering his wounds, and his other hand right on his holstered HF gun. On his side stood a woman they didn't recognise, and they were both was surrounded by more underlings.

Cinder and her compatriots looked roughly in the direction Tai was. 'Shit-!'

Tai kept his face as cold as ice as he stared Cinder down.

VROOOOM! VROOOOM!

And then, to the Half-Maiden's shock, even more military boats came from the side. They emerged from all kinds of nooks and crannies, bursting from the shadows jam-packed with military personnel. They had all kinds of weapons ready, from assault rifles to snipers to rocket launchers.

Step step step step!

Mercury heard the sound of rushing footsteps. He turned back to the docks and saw a whole platoon of militants approaching, rushing to position and taking a kneel beside each member of Team RWBY with their assault rifles pointing straight at Team CMEN. He clenched his jaw in frustration. Damn it-!

Emerald saw a streak of light in the sky. She quickly followed its trail and looked up.

FWOOOOSHHHH!

Three Bullheads popped out of stealth mode, flashing their search lights down at Team CMEN. Their miniguns spooled up, prepared to shred them to a hundred strips. Emerald felt her breath hitch in her throat.

"ALL OF YOU! HANDS ON YOUR HEAD AND DROP TO YOUR KNEES! LAST CHANCE!"

Cinder looked around her and saw even more arrivals. Another Bullhead came from a different direction, this one floating above patiently. Then, it spun to face her with its back hatch. The hatch opened, and immediately Cinder saw a sniper dot aimed at her chest. She narrowed her eyes and looked at those inside the brand-new Bullhead.

A metal, white-haired cyborg with a sword, paired with a sniper-wielding soldier with an eyepatch and shrapnel piercing his head.

Raiden grunted and jumped down, landing on his feet with cracks spreading on the concrete. He stood tall and unsheathed HF Crocea from his back. With a yell, he twirled the sword and pointed it at Team CMEN, its yellow electricity crackling wild.

And finally, a bird transformed in the middle of the sky and landed gently in front of Ruby and Yang.

"Get back, girls." Qrow twirled his weapon and stood firmly in front of his nieces. "That goes for the rest of your team too, Ruby. Stay at the utter back of the line, just before the docks even start."

"A-alright, Uncle Qrow." Ruby obliged, and the rest of her team followed her lead to stand back. Now, they were at the utmost rear of the group, but they still had a clear view of Team CMEN.

Ruby was still in shock at just how fast things were turning out. Her anger was still there, the will to act, but she held it back for now. She couldn't act rashly, not with this many people.

Silence, not even the chirps of cicadas.

With Team CMEN's backs pressed against each other, Cinder looked around and assessed the situation as best she could.

Her eyes flitted to the streets. Numerous soldiers with all sorts of weapons, all clicking in place and ready to shoot her down.

She flitted her eyes to the ocean. Five ships armed to the brim with soldiers, and she had no doubt they had torpedoes that could shoot them down.

Finally, Cinder flitted her eyes upwards. She saw four Bullheads, each with more than enough firepower.

Click click click click!

Her opposition's patience was wearing thin now. Their weapons were now all ready to fire on them, aimed dead-on to fill them with hot lead and reduce them to ashes.

But still, Cinder remained undeterred. She kept her weapons to the side but was still ready to assault at any time. She'll fight to the last breath until The Boss came. It's the least she could do.

Emerald's eyes shot to Cinder for more than a second. Her doubt was clear, but… Cinder wouldn't lead them astray, would she?

Mercury growled as he felt his boots itch to kick. Damn it, if he'll go down, he'll go down fighting! He refused to be less than able!

Tai's eyes turned an icy cold, his grip on HF Dragonsbreath firm and his voice through the megaphone clear. No more chances.

From where he was, he saw Cinder's muscles tense.

Cinder slowly but surely entered CQC, and clicks of guns could be heard to shoot her down.

"READY!" Tai shouted with no remorse.

Emerald and Mercury entered their own stances, and the Bullhead's miniguns spooled up.

"AIM!"

The atmosphere was tense for them all.

This was it.

Cinder let go of all her final doubts and prepared to fight to the death. 'Boss, if I don't make it out of this… I'm sorry.'

"FIRE-!"

RUMBLE! RUMBLE! RUMBLE!

The whole ground shook. Not a single person was spared from losing their footing.

Cinder gasped as she quickly pushed past her wounds and stood back up. This must be-!

Blake's cat ears twitched. 'What…?' Her Faunus ears allowed her to hear something that wasn't heard by normal humans, and it was simply terrifying. A menacing rumble as something- something gigantic approached, coming closer and closer. It's coming from-!

Blake's eyes shot to the ocean, and so did the rest of her team's. "It's coming from the ocean!" She shouted.

Just as she shouted her warning, Haven's radar began to pick something up. "Headmaster!" The attendant shouted. "We've got incoming!"

All eyes shot to the ocean as the rumble got loud enough for all to hear. Then, with amazing speed, the ocean waters began to rise to a mound as something metal and monstrous ascended.

Raiden's eye widened as he realized what exactly it was. "No, it can't be-!" And now, right here, it must be more powerful!

A Hunter deterrent!

SCREEEEEEEEEEEECHHHHHHHH!

With a loud, terrifying Grimm-like screech, a large metal monstrosity leapt out of the ocean and soared high to the skies. One that was extremely powerful, and extremely familiar.

THE TIME HAS COME TO AN END!

For its size, it was extremely fast and nimble. It was big, bigger than Ozpin's tower, had a sleek design that was made from Atlas to specifically attack from waters, and was shaped from metal that was resistant to normal forms of elemental damage.

It soared high, leaping above even the Bullheads. Everyone's eyes followed the technological marvel, the final and original form of Atlas' robotic projects, soaring above them all…

CRASH!

And landed right behind the utter rear of their lines, its head bowing low and staring right into Team RWBY.

YEAHH, THIS IS WHAT NATURE PLANNED!

"METAL GEAR!" Raiden shouted.

SCREEEEEEEEECHHHHH!

Metal Gear RAY turned its head to the sky and screamed, chilling the hearts of those who heard it.

Ruby grit her teeth as she stepped back, the closest of them all to Metal Gear RAY. She brought Crescent Rose behind her and felt her team stick close.

Now or never!

SCREEEEEEEEECHHHHH!

---

Not much to add here, 'cause I assume you all know what's up. Thanks for reading, and see you next time!

Review Responses:

To Azure Dragon of the East, yeah, after reading the reviews, true that! And now, the battle for Team CMEN! Thanks for reading!

To Spyash2, I tried really hard to make it believable, and I'm glad it was. Thanks!

To SolSparda369, Yang finally decided to go to prevent her sister from going alone. Now it's up to Team RWBY to graduate their test. Thanks for reading!

To Gwynx, Oh, Ocelot vs Snake, there's gonna be a similar fight alright. You'lll just have to wait and see… but anyways, of course, thanks for the read! And as always, I'm glad you liked it!

To Havel the Hebel, glad it had a similar feel to the original game, and that the ending was appropriate! Thanks for reading!

To TheJSmooth, Everyone's in the fight now, including the Boss. Question is, can they take on a Metal Gear, but not only that, one who has been modified to live up and replace Hunters? That remains to be seen!

To Maniacalharp747, true that!

To DocWhofan, soon…

To Skeletalrepublic, but now, he's found a new rival. And that kinda…? Excites him. It's complicated, but I hope it's not too off-putting. Thanks for reading, and glad you're still liking it!

To Large Executive, now, how much collateral damage can be prevented when a frickin MG comes into the play? Thanks for reading!

To KenSanders, Oh words will fly alright. But for the Fall of Beacon, hm… it won't exactly happen with one side truly winning against the other. It will, however, be better than Haven. Also, Yang's back on the virtue of not wanting her sister to become like Pyrrha. Of course, Raven told her some things as well, which made her realise just how far she is from the top of the pecking order. Hope that seems acceptable. Glad you're still following, and thanks for reading!