Winter had to blink her eyes a few times, her head feeling a little dizzy from the transportation, but she looked around at the theater while everyone else was getting themselves situated. "Where would you like to sit? You could sit with me in the back, or if you would prefer to be down there with Weiss, it is all fine with me." Just as Winter opened her mouth, Raider slapped her head as she remembered something. "Oh! Before you answer that question, I need to give you a rundown of the layout, so if you would come with me I can show you the dorms."
Raider led Winter down the main hallway, and Jaune watched, nervously wringing his fingers as he looked at Pyrrha. He took a deep breath and gathered his courage to ask, "H-Hey, Pyrrha?" Pyrrha hummed, turning her attention to Jaune, before appearing worried with how nervous Jaune seemed. "C-Can I talk to you for a second?" Pyrrha nodded, but she wasn't as calm as she looked on the outside. Jaune put out his hand for Pyrrha to take and he looked around for a place to have their conversation. The kitchen wouldn't have been a bad choice, but Raider would have walked in with Winter at any moment and that wouldn't be ideal. Jaune checked once more, but there weren't any other conjugated rooms, but the bathrooms, but he'd rather not have this conversation in there.
Jaune sighed, realizing that the main theater would have to do. Jaune sat both him and Pyrrha back down and he took her other hand, causing a light blush to dust her cheeks. "J-Jaune, i-is something wrong?" The grip on her hands slightly tightened as he looked at her and he took one more moment to get his thoughts in order.
"Nothing's wrong, but there's been something I've been meaning to talk to you about. You…you remember when I said I wanted to wait till we get back and take you on a few dates first?" Pyrrha's only response was a nod. "Well, after listening to the song Forever Fall it made me realize that I can't do it, I can't wait." Was Jaune asking what Pyrrha thinks he's asking? "I want to be your boyfriend to love you, to cherish you with everything you deserve." Pyrrha's eyes were glossed over as her hands were covering her mouth. "I know I would have liked to do it in a better location, but I don't care about that. I want to officially become your boyfriend…i-if you'll have me…that is."
Pyrrha was quiet, her brain short-circuiting and wondering if this was really happening. Her face was turning such a red that it looked a tad concerning. She removed her covering hands to reveal a blooming smile. "Yes, I would love to be your girlfriend, Jaune." The both of them shared lovesick grins.
"But, I'm sorry, if it's alright with you to wait a little because Nora and Ren just announced their relationship and I don't us to upstage them and–" Pyrrha cut Jaune off.
"It's okay, I understand." The two of them knew their friends were going to get a tad suspicious of their very joyous moods, so they tried their best to not let it show as much, but they knew they wouldn't be able to stop themselves from having their hands brushing the others when the episodes start playing.
Raider arrived back in the room and very quickly showed Winter the kitchen before making their way back to everyone else. Winter takes to sitting in the back with Raider, and the entity couldn't help but curse in her head. Now she couldn't outwardly make faces whenever the students would comment on something that was going to happen in the future. Raider now had the hard task of trying to keep her composure and face unreadable with Winter sitting next to her. "So, are all of you ready to start Volume 7?" Raider asked. None of them were, but they guessed they had to be.
The night was beautiful, presenting stars and aurora borealis along with the shattered moon. Atlesian airships soared throughout the sky as the team's ship passed the others.
Winter frowned, she couldn't believe Qrow allowed the students to steal an Atlesian airship, of all things! Jaune could feel Winter's glare. "Ms. Winter, if this is about the ship, Qrow had nothing to do with it. It was my idea to steal the airship, don't blame him." Winter looked towards the boy, still rightfully unhappy as a piece of military equipment was stolen. "We're sorry for taking it and we're trying to think of other ways around the problem." The rest of them apologize and Winter sighs.
"When the time comes for your arrival to Atlas, please," Winter directs her attention to Weiss, "Contact the General and me through your scroll instead of resorting to breaking the law as your method to getting there." Winter being here and watching with them would make things a hundred times easier.
"What if we all added Winter into our contacts, that way we would have direct communication if something were to go wrong or come up," Blake suggests. That was a really good idea, and the group all planned to exchange their numbers once the episode was over.
"Manta 51, welcome home," the woman on the other lines says as they venture closer. "Please continue your approach to Atlas Docking Bay Omega 12. A security team will meet you there, over. "
"They are acting…suspiciously calm as they must have already been notified that our ship was categorized as hostile." Ruby didn't like the calmness in the woman's tone, it didn't seem right.
"We're about to get ambushed the moment we set foot out the airship, aren't we?" Yang asked, crossing her arms. After what they did, it appeared to be the most logical outcome. They didn't see how it would go any different.
"I don't understand," Ruby mutters.
Neither did any of them, they were half expecting multiple ships to swarm them at that point, not invite them.
"What's happening here?" Qrow agrees with his niece, he isn't that sure either.
"Winter?" Weiss asked, but her sister didn't have an answer for her.
"These events are set in the future, so I will be just as unaware as the rest of you," Winter replied.
"But, we are here, we got the lamp to Atlas, so I guess we land and get some answers," Jaune says.
None of them believe that it will be that simple. They've seen so many things up until this point and they all know better than to assume that everything was going to be okay. There's always something else lying underneath that they can't see.
"I'm not so sure," Weiss speaks up, "I've never seen our forces deployed so aggressively before. If we land in a stolen ship, there's no way the security team will let us anywhere near Ironwood. They might even take me back to my father."
"Yeah, no way in hell that's happening," Yang spits out.
"We plan to keep you as far away from that man as possible," Ruby hands, grasping Weiss's hand. Her blood still boils as the sound of Jacque slapping Weiss echoes in her head. Her teeth grit and she glares daggers at the screen. "Not if we have something to say about it."
"After what I've been shown, there is no world where I'm letting him near you," Winter exclaims. However, Weiss's words did make her pause. Even she hasn't witnessed General Ironwood hold such a defensive formation with the air force. Winter became worried about General Ironwood's recent behavior. What could happen in the next two volumes that would warrant her to keep such a close eye on him? This also made Weiss wonder if this correlated to General Ironwood and her father's argument before she left.
Blake trails off when Weiss quickly thinks of her sister, pulling out her scroll. She tells Maria to put some distance between them and the fleet. "You don't have to tell me twice." Maria guides the ship and flies them down into Mantle.
Raider was internally giddy as it was getting so close to the moment where everyone would become emotional and burst into tears. Also, make Yang ask herself if she had some kind of otherworldly powers. But at the same, it's going to hurt all the more to see all their happy reactions knowing what will happen at the end of Volume 8.
Mantle citizens went about their business, walking the streets. Ruby turns her head as she listens to a broadcast from General Ironwood. " Many have described these as uncertain times ."
The students deadpanned as that was putting it lightly. Coming from experience of what they all witnessed the things they've had to face. But, they couldn't make all this about their struggles as many people were facing the damage as well. So many lives were taken and so many lives were affected and hurt.
" And while that may be the case for the rest of the world, I can tell you what is certain: the Kingdom of Atlas will remain strong and it will remain safe ."
Raider did her best to not openly show her reaction to that statement. Even then, the students and Winter had a sinking feeling that his words would soon be seen as lies. They tried not to dwell on those kinds of thoughts.
"That is my promise. "
"General Ironwood, he looks…tired," Yang comments.
Weiss goes back to her earlier thought that this has some connection to the discussion between her father and the General. Winter looks even more worried as she stares at the screen.
Qrow questions what James has been doing, under his breath.
It's been a while since the students have seen him, so that question will remain standing until they know for sure.
Atlesian Knights patrolled the streets and as a drone flew by, two kids picked up a rock and threw it.
The students flinched as they weren't expecting that from the children. It may have only been those two, but were all the other citizens of Mantle going to show that same aggression?
Weiss states that none of this is right as Winter hasn't picked up yet.
Winter scolds herself, this is one of the cases where your sister needs you, pick up!
" Manta 51, we've noticed a detour in your route, you are to make your way to Docking Bay Omega 12 immediately. Do you copy? Over ." The same woman announces. Maria states they are running out of time.
"We leave the ship. If that's what they're using to track your location then you need to ditch it and continue on foot," Sun says. All the students agreed as it was only going to cause their counterparts more problems if they remained with it. It's done its job, so it's time to move on.
Yang says they need to ditch the ship and Qrow agrees.
Sun raises his hands as if to say 'thank you!'
"Get lost in Mantle and buy ourselves some time." Weiss still thinks getting Winter is the better option and that she take them to Ironwood.
They were all now hesitant for that to happen after Winter was brought here so she could go back to watch over him. They were beginning to be on the more wary side if that was the best idea.
"Uh, Weiss?" Blake grabs Weiss's attention and the two look out the window as Winter broadcasts her own message. Failure to cooperate with Atlas Military Personnel is a punishable offense.
Winter had never felt so disappointed in herself. That was a horrible 'reminder' to be sending out and it comes at the time when Weiss needs her the most? Winter's grimace deepened as Weiss wouldn't be able to come to her for help and she wouldn't be able to trust her.
"Well, that's convenient timing," Nora muttered.
Weiss was just confused as Winter went on. "No offense, Weiss, but I'm not so sure that's a good idea anymore."
"For once, I agree with him. If this is what that version of me is telling everyone, it's best you stay away. It's for the better, Weiss." Weiss frowned, wishing that wasn't the case, but from what she was seeing, the best course of action was to find another way to General Ironwood.
"There's obviously something very wrong, if we can just talk to her then we–" Qrow interrupts Weiss, telling her that he's not even sure they should be talking to Ironwood until they're sure of what's going on.
They've stumbled into a very high-alert Atlas and with their entanglement with the stolen ship, it wouldn't be such a good idea to interact with the police. They have no clue of the situation Atlas is under and until they figure it out they need to lay low for a bit and stay out of any more trouble.
"We shouldn't be barging into something that we don't understand," Ruby adds, "It will only cause us more problems." Ruby squeezes Weiss's hand and the heiress reluctantly relents.
"Everyone calm down," Maria says, sighing, "I know someone who can help with both."
"Is it the person who normally does her eyes?" Oscar asks.
" Manta 51, you are to make your way– " Maria shuts off the radio, exasperated by her insistence, and tells her to take a hint.
"The longer they stay in the ship, the quicker the military will come for all of them. They don't have much else of a choice but to abandon ship and hope Maria's friend won't rat them out," Yang says. They were going to meet Maria's friend and if he was trustworthy then he could be another person they could all rely on and go to once they officially make their way to Atlas.
The group steps out of an alleyway and makes their way through the streets of Mantle. Campaigns for Robyn Hill all over.
They were curious about Robyn Hill, but they expected they would learn more about her as she seems will play an important role in the volumes.
"Come on now, hurry! It shouldn't be much of a walk," Maria exclaimed and Jaune asked if all these soldiers were normal.
"No," Both Weiss and Winter said in unison.
"No…at least, I didn't think so," Weiss states as she's unsure of the need for the high security. A small drone follows Yang and she tries to annoy it but kicks it when it takes a picture of her.
All of Yang's friends look at her and Yang rubs the back of her head, "It might be better if we walked a little faster. I don't have the best feeling about that photo taken." Yang was worried it was going to come back to bite them sooner or later.
The drone slowly gets up but is slammed by a truck. "Maybe we should pick up the pace."
"Is it going to be a normal occurrence that you say things moments before it's said on screen?" Winter asks, wanting to clarify if she should be surprised or not.
"Yeah, it's a pretty normal thing, it's happened a lot in current volumes," Ren replies. Winter nods as the information is dully noted.
"Is anyone also not going to point out that Blake fondly rolled her eyes?" Nora said, pointing out the little detail.
"You have to remember, the kingdom had just lost the Great War, the people of Mantle needed a sign of a brighter future, and that sign was Atlas," Maria explained. "After all, a home in the clouds is as bright as it gets." Nora and Blake watch as a truck full of Faunus covered in soot passes by.
Both Sun and Blake frown, hating the display in front of them. Blake's ears flatten and Sun's tail flicks. Some of those people were constantly having to look up at that so-called "brightness".
"Unless you're the one having to look up at it," Nora retorted, crossing her arms.
All the students nodded their heads affirmatively. It wasn't right or fair.
"This whole city, it just seems awful," Blake sums up.
The people of Mantle are forced to live in such horrible conditions and are just told by all the people up in Atlas to deal with it. They hoped, somewhere in the future that this would change, that Mantle would be given the help that it needs and deserves. No, giving the people of Mantle the help they need and deserve. Winter felt even more upset, because the message that she sent out to all the people, drives Blake's point further home.
"Yeaah?" A drunk man stumbles out, "You don't like it here? There'ss plenty of ssspace out in the tundra." Blake tries to apologize as she didn't intend for it to come out that way, but he cuts her off. "Atlas is the greaatest kingdom in the world, alright!"
"Someone should really take that flask from out of his hand before he attempts to do something irrational," Pyrrha says with a hint of worry. Yang cracked her knuckles, she would happily knock this guy out if he said something out of line.
Ruby goes to defend her friend, but Blake places a hand on her shoulder. They can't make a scene.
They already had enough attention drawn to them for the stolen ship, causing a fight would only make it worse. No matter how much they would all like to say something.
"The embargo…the embargo's got us in a rough patch, but it'll blow over, you'll see," another man interjected.
They really wished they could believe that, but with all they knew it was going to get much worse than just an embargo. It was far from 'blowing over'.
"We tried to help the other kingdoms and this is what happens? I say let 'em rot!" Blake halfheartedly apologizes as she didn't mean to insult him. The man spits at the ground, playing with the cap of the flask, "Stupid Faunus like you wouldn't under–"
"That's it! The next time I see this guy, he's gettin' it!" Yang shouts. She punches her fist in her palm, ready to start a fight with this man. Blake places a hand on her shoulder, attempting for the gesture to get her to settle down when others plan to join Yang.
"Yeah, we'll break his legs!" Nora exclaims.
"And throw his flask to the ground!" Sun adds.
The man stops when a gravity glyph appears under him and he's lifted into the air, landing in the dumpster.
Yang points a finger at the screen and laughs at him, "That's what you get! Nice one, Weiss."
Blake turns to Weiss, her smile grateful. "Thank you, Weiss."
"No way was I going to let him get away with that, and it was 100% worth it." Winter had half a mind to scold her sister, but she was filled with immense guilt as her mind wandered to Adam. Now knowing that he was the product of her family's wrongdoings she feels horrible that they were the ones to create the monster.
All of Weiss's friends look back at her as she simply shrugs, "It was worth it." The group runs off as two Atlesian Knights check the man and the second one in the red beanie tries to shout that that was Weiss but tripped. Winter's message finishes and the group arrives at their destination.
Winter couldn't help but roll her eyes once her 'reminder' was done. The disappointment she felt was immense as this was the kind of message she was sending to the people? She was meant to help all of them, not sound like an authoritarian.
A Faunus woman steps out of the building, happily waving goodbye to the older-sounding man inside who reminds her no heavy lifting.
All of their eyes zoned in on the woman's mechanical arm.
"Ah, it's good to see you again, old friend," Maria greets as a man rummages through his desk. The man chuckles and cheerfully asks if they've met.
"Well, this is going well," Yang says sarcastically. The students nod in agreement, though they can't entirely put too much fault on him. Maybe once Maria says her name to him he'll remember.
Ren thinks this is off to a fantastic start. "Cybernetic optimal implants, you adjust them, every ten years or so?" It takes the man a couple of seconds with some squinting for it to come to him.
"There it is!" Nora says happily. Just a tad slip in memory was all. He was so cheery and friendly, they were all liking this man already.
"Wait, is this the same guy that we saw back in Volume 3?" Weiss asked. He was the one they didn't see, the one who gripped his chair when…when…yeah.
The man's chair walks out into view as he repeats Maria's words.
"Woah! That is one special chair!" Ruby exclaimed. An accident must have occurred as he must be paralyzed. But they were still in awe of how cool the chair was.
"That's incredible!" Jaune added.
The man grasps Maria's hand and proceeds to take her to a setup asking her if it's already been ten years.
"It might have been a little less as the malfunctioning of her implants was caused by their journey there," Oscar says. Or it could have actually been ten years, they don't know if Maria was already on her way to Atlas when they first saw her on the train back in Volume 6.
"I know, I age like a fine wine. Would have been here sooner if I hadn't run into these jokers," Maria replies.
The majority of them clicked their tongues. "So she was already on her way to Atlas when we first saw her," Oscar muttered. That answers his previous thought.
"At the time I thought they might need my guidance at the time while fighting a little sphinx."
Little? That Grimm was much more than little.
The man, intrigued, asked if they did need the help. "No, no, they had much more complicated issues." Maria hops onto the chair with some help when Qrow clears his throat.
"We don't think those 'issues' should be addressed so easily to other people, even if it's an old friend. At that point, still, the fewer people who are aware, the better," Weiss says.
Qrow asks who this is. "So impatient, I didn't think I needed to introduce one of Atlas's finest minds," Maria states.
None of them were going to ask, despite earlier being curious, they knew he was going to be introduced. And in just a few seconds as shown.
"Wooorking in a place like this?" Yang asks as a piece of ceiling falls to the ground. Maria states that he likes to keep a low profile. Maria comes to realize that it's something none of the group knows.
"Hey! Well, uh… that's a pretty fair point, actually," Ruby goes to defend, only to see that she isn't wrong. How many times have they tried to keep a low profile only for something crazy to come after them?
"You can call me Pietro."
"Doctor Pietro Polendina, one of Atlas's sharpest scientists, and the creator of–" Winter went to explain as Ruby and the other students whispered to themselves.
Penny…
"This is Penny's father?" Pyrrha clarified. Winter nodded and they felt their hearts break. Thinking back to the moment back in Volume 3 where a man clutched his chair while watching Penny's…
"Finest heart too. This pharmacy is just where he volunteers when he's not building the future of Atlas, alongside Ironwood up in the clouds," Maria explains.
The students were beginning to quickly turn the corner on Pietro, they all liked him.
Pietro calls it stuffy in Atlas as down in Mantle he gets to help the locals and have a little fun. He's currently working on shows that make him dance.
Raider shakes her head a smile. Penny's personality makes so much sense when you finally meet the man who built and raised her. "This guy is great, now I want to officially meet him!" Sun exclaimed.
Pietro asks if they want to try them on.
"Oh my Gods, yes!" Nora shouts, all for the idea.
"Before we get to that," Yang interjects and Nora pouts while crossing her arms, "We were wondering if you could help us? We came to Atlas hoping we could talk to General Ironwood, but um…"
"What exactly has been happening here?" Blake finishes.
"That is a wonderful question that we would all love to know," Yang says as she folds her hands. Everything they've seen has been so much more hostile and with Weiss's comment that she hasn't seen this many defenses, the situation is worrying them.
Pietro holds a fist to his chest when he coughs. "The Fall of Beacon took a toll on all of us, James was no different. I couldn't tell you exactly what it was he saw there, but it changed him." Qrow includes that Ironwood is scared. "Paranoid would be the more appropriate term."
Yes, and that paranoia overtakes him to the point where he declares martial law, goes rogue, and leaves many innocents to fend themselves or just leave them to die.
"You have to understand, it wasn't just the Grimm. Someone completely dismantled Atlas security code."
Cinder, all of them thought with anger.
"Made it their plaything, made us look like traitors to some, buffoons to everyone else. Whoever managed to do that is either a genius or one of our own."
They believe that to be both. Arthur Watts was a genius who was born and raised in Atlas. While it was Cinder who was the mastermind behind the Fall of Beacon, Watts has just as much power to do the same to Atlas now. Maybe even more.
"I fear the answer may be both, and so does the General." Ren thinks that maybe Atlas isn't as safe as they thought.
All of them delt dejected. If it came to that point and Atlas was just as dangerous, where would any of them be able to turn to for their next course of action?
"After we came all this way, we can't just leave, can we?" Oscar asks, and Weiss wants to know what the Council feels about all of this, or Winter Schnee.
Winter frowns, her little sister still wanting to hold onto that hope that she would be able to help them. But, Winter herself isn't so sure.
"Well, the Council's so scared they'll agree to whatever he wants."
They know General Ironwood is just wanting to keep the people safe, but is that really the best course of action to be taking in this scenario? Just following someone's word with no other cognitive thinking?
"Though some representatives from Mantle are…wait, you're Weiss Schnee." Weiss took a step back, confused.
The students were starting to become apprehensive. She was Weiss Schnee, he wasn't going to turn her in, was he? "And, what was that about Mantle, can we maybe go back to that for a second," Yang says. What about the representatives of Mantle?
Pietro sees Yang's arm, "You painted it."
The group was confused for a few moments. "Wait, was he the one who built Yang's arm?" Ruby asked. He quickly recognized it and pointed the appendage out.
Yang pulled her arm hand back. Ruby asked if everything was alright. "You're Team RWBY."
"Hold up, he knows us?!" Yang exclaimed.
"How?" Jaune wondered.
"You know us?!" Ruby exclaims in surprise. Pietro chuckles that he most certainly does.
"I feel like such a dunce for not recognizing you sooner, my daughter's told me so much about you." Ruby is confused about what he means by 'daughter'.
The students' hearts clenched in pain as Penny must have told him so many stories about them before she was… They can't even think the thought to themselves, they don't want to say it or think about it.
A siren blared outside as civilians began running for cover. The group ran out when Pietro yelled for them to stop like he wanted to tell them something.
Ruby wiped a stray tear, "Pleasantries can come after, there's trouble to be dealt with."
"Also, are we going to be able to catch a break?!" Nora exclaimed. It seemed like there was no reprieve from their lives being constantly on the line.
The students got out and prepared their weapons for a fight. Blake did the same, but when realizing Gambol Shroud's blade was broken, she switched it to a gun.
Blake frowned, internally cursing Adam for breaking her weapon. There wasn't much time for that now, her gun would have to make do.
Oscar supposes the city defensives aren't doing much and that doesn't entirely surprise Nora.
Atlesian Knights attempt to fend off the pack of sabyrs but are ultimately destroyed.
"Well, we didn't come this far to fail now!" Ruby shouts as they all get ready. Yang propels herself behind Ruby and then launches forward, Ren close behind.
"Alright team, let's beat their asses!" Yang declares.
Nora pouts, looking back at Jaune and using his shield to join Yang and Ren. The three each slam into a sabyr and Jaune slices one of his own, stabbing another one as it's up against his shield. Qrow swings Harbinger, cutting them into dust, even punching one.
"Yeah! That's my uncle!" Ruby cheers.
"Whoooo!" Yang joins at the sight of her uncle punching a Grimm in the face.
Oscar stares down a charging sabyr and slams his cane down onto it as he jumps above it. It falls to the ground and dissipates. Ruby shoots sabyr coming up to an unsuspecting Oscar, smiling. Ruby rushes into the fray, spinning Crescent Rose and taking out Grimm left and right.
Weiss's cheeks were stained with blush as watching Ruby fight was sending her heart racing. That's my Ruby!
"Yes, that's my sister!" Yang shouted with pride. Ruby could feel her own cheeks getting a tad hotter from embarrassment.
Weiss used Myrtenaster to kill the sabyr in front of her and smirked when she lifted a whole other pack with her glyphs. Ren bounds off each of the Grimm and finishes them. Yang punches a Grimm to the ground and a second is shot by Blake is comes up behind her.
The students were loving all these moments with one another, loving the zero communication and they can all fight without it. It really shows how they've all grown as fighters and friends. Winter was impressed with all of them and was immensely proud to see how far her sister had come.
Raider couldn't hide her open excitement and everyone was curious as to what she was so happy about. It didn't seem like it had to do with the fight as she's never shown this much for a previous one before. So, what was it?
Blake is stunned to turn around to a sabyr about to pounce on her.
"Blake!" Yang screams.
The Grimm is cut in half by a green laser beam.
"We know those green lasers," Ruby whispered.
I-It couldn't be…could it?
The rest of the sabyrs were easily taken care of.
Tears welled in everyone's eyes. All of them leaned closer, not believing what they were seeing. Winter appeared like she was trying to calculate how this was possible. None of the students were dreaming, what they were all seeing was really real.
The streetlights turned from red to blue and Penny's silhouette flew in front of the shattered moon.
Every one of the students then screams, overjoyed at what they're seeing.
"PENNY!"
"SHE'S ALIVE!"
"PENNY'S ALIVE!"
"HOW IS SHE ALIVE!"
"WHO FUCKING CARES!"
Raider was so happy for them but also utterly crying on the inside with how much harder this was going to hurt for them when they get to the Volume 8 finale. Winter was shedding her own tears while she was working out in her head how Penny was there. The students were all so happy but so confused at the same time, they all saw Penny die at the Vytal Festival.
Once more, as they were all celebrating, Raider was internally wincing at how this was going to hit them when that time came. Like Volume 3, volumes 7, 8, and 9 were going to challenge them the most. Mentally and emotionally. Raider spared a glance at Ruby as tears of joy were running down her cheeks. Raider felt like she was getting stabbed in the heart. These next three volumes were going to break them and then tell them the rest of their story hasn't been created yet? To say leaving them with the cliffhanger they will be given is cruel would be a massive understatement.
The group couldn't believe their eyes. "Penny…" Ruby whispered.
"Darling, why don't you say hello to your friends?" Pietro suggests. Penny's smile blooms.
"Sal-" Ruby blinked, confused.
The present Ruby did the same, as did the others.
"U-" Penny got closer to the ground, startling Ruby.
Ruby gasped in excitement. "Yes! I will take your hug!"
"Tations!" Penny blasted herself at Ruby who put up waving hands in a panic. Penny slammed into Ruby as the others put away their weapons.
All the students winced as they heard the sound of the impact, but chuckled. Ruby was surely going to feel that for a couple of days. Ruby, though, didn't care as it would all be worth it now that she has her friend back! Raider resisted the urge to bite her fist. If this was how it was going to be the two volumes, she doesn't know if she'll be able to handle it.
Ruby groans as both of them get back up. "It is such a pleasure to see you all again!" Penny shouts happily.
She even remembers them? How was she–? How is she–? They all had so many questions.
"Penny, I-I…I thought you-" Ruby struggles to get out.
"Died?" Pietro finishes, "I guess in a matter of speaking she did, but we were able to recover her core from Amity Arena once it had made its way back to Atlas."
It was eternally official, all of them loved Pietro, that fact was set in stone. They had all never felt so grateful and happy. Raider wished these moments would cease, but she knew it was only to get worse from here.
"It took me some time, but–"
"I'm as good as new, better even! And now I'm the official protector of the city!" Penny announces. Pietro says they aren't going to let a little ripping-to-shreds stop them, are they? "No sir!" Penny bangs her head with her fist and the metal clinks.
"This is…" Weiss starts.
"Strangely wholesome," Blake completes.
"Sounds like Penny to me," Yang adds.
And none of them would have it any other way. They all loved Penny just the way she was and were so glad to see that she recovered all her memories and hadn't changed.
"We have so many things to catch up about. I cannot wait." Sirens blare behind them and still, with a smile on her face, Penny tells Ruby, "It seems we will have to wait."
A few of them cursed, wishing they could spend a lot more time with Penny.
"Let's talk more later, I can't wait to hear about all your adventures and tell you how I have been and I am just very excited for the whole experience!" Penny's voice trailed off as she flew into the sky.
"I can't tell if I completely understand what's going on or, have like, a million questions!" Nora explains.
Penny was alive and well and they were all in the mood to just accept. They were given the information about how she survived and that was good enough for all of them.
"And thankfully, I have about a thousand answers," Pietro says as his chair starts to walk. "But let's get out of this weather first." Maria has absolutely no idea who Penny is and if she is important somehow.
"She is very important, thank you very much!" Ruby pouts, "She's our friend!"
Jaune believes that was unexpected, Ren says there's never a dull moment, and Qrow expected things to go a lot rougher but the event wasn't unwelcome.
"Finally, after everything we've watched, we got to see something positive!" Nora yells. They've seen themselves go through hell and back and all they've faced was danger and problems one after the other, so seeing Penny was just the kind of relief they all needed.
Time seems to have slowed as they take a couple of steps, Ren looks behind them when everyone is then tied up.
"Woah!"
"Hey, what!"
"What's going on?!"
Winter pinches the bridge of her nose in annoyance while the rest of the group lets out their anger at the turn of events.
"Just when we thought things were finally getting better, now we're here!" Yang yells. "These sure know how to ruin a good thing, don't they?"
"Winter?" Weiss asks, liking an explanation.
"These are Atlas's Ace Operatives, an elite group of huntsman and huntresses. Clover Ebi, Marrow Amin, Harriet Bree, Elm Ederne, and Vine Zeki."
The leader of the Ace-Ops tells his team good work. Oscar panics, wanting to know what's going on. "Hey, pal! I'm a licensed huntsman, just helped save everyone!" Qrow shouts as Clover swings a horseshoe around his finger before putting it in his belt, looking down at Qrow.
"We're gonna take a wild guess that this is Clover?" Yang asks.
"You would be correct, yes," Winter says with a nod of her head.
The Ace-Ops confiscate their weapons and Clover picks up the Lamp.
"No!" The students shouted they couldn't let them take the Lamp!
Clover takes a look at the Lamp and hums, saying they'll get them loaded into the next transport. "Please, we were just trying to help!" Pietro comes back to the group and asks what the meaning is.
That was surely a pretty thing to come back to. All of them wrapped up and about to be arrested. They should have gotten rid of the airship sooner!
Pietro wants to know what the Ace-Ops are even doing in Mantle. Ruby is unfamiliar with the name. "Doctor, good to see you. Well, we heard a report of an unauthorized ship, making an unauthorized landing, followed by an unauthorized use of weapons by non-licensed huntsmen." Pietro asks if they can talk this out.
All of them sighed as there wasn't going to be a way to get them out of this, was there?
"They'll be able to talk this out once they get up to Atlas. Let's move out!" Clover commands and everyone leaves the scene. Qrow is shoved into the transport truck with the rest of them and he voices how this is what he had in mind.
They figured their little easy travel on foot would have ended at some point, but they should have expected something like this to happen at the end of the episode.
The doors shut and the theme for the volume begins to play.
Well, at least they had this to enjoy while the Ace-Ops had to do their job and sour the mood.
Silhouette of Team RWBY and Team ORNJ and their signature colors are displayed. Team RWBY looks down a cliff before Ruby removes her hood and they all stare down the city of Atlas.
The students begin to clap as they're more than pumped to the intro for Volume 7. "Let's see it!" Nora shouts.
Team RWBY dissipates into black petals, the petals showing the title for Volume 7. Yang flies through the air, beginning with her Beacon outfit, kicking into her Mistral, and punching her fists together to reveal her Atlas outfit.
As it is revealed, Raider snaps her fingers and Yang finds herself in her new outfit. "Aw yeah!" Yang pumps her fist as she admires everything.
Blake phases through each of her clothes, also showing her new haircut.
Yang's jaw drops as her mind goes blank. Ruby waved a hand in front of Yang's face, hoping to grab her attention, but her mind was elsewhere. Yang didn't think Blake could possibly get any more beautiful, but here this timeline was, proving her dead wrong. Yang believed she was looking at a goddess.
Blake blushed heavily at Yang's starstruck expression. "Yang?" Blake's voice seemed to have freed her and she looked away in embarrassment.
"Sorry, you just look really pretty." Blake smiles in response. Raider snaps her fingers and Blake is in her new outfit, but Blake sees that Raider didn't touch her hair, leaving it long.
Weiss jumps from glyph to glyph, going through her outfits.
Raider snaps again and Ruby squealed, clapping her hands. She brought Weiss into a tight hug, muttering over and over how she was so pretty. Weiss rolled her eyes fondly, her own blushing dusting her cheeks. "You dolt."
Ruby swings through her own, Crescent Rose helping with the transitions.
Great, all of them thought, now it's going to be more difficult to focus on episodes if my girlfriend looks so good. They need to learn to keep their attention on the events at hand. Ruby found herself in her new look and she was loving it.
General Ironwood looks at a model of Atlas, then goes through his eye with the Ace-Ops silhouettes appearing. The group stands tall while behind a screen, Watts smirks, typing on the computer with a shadow of Tyrian spinning over him.
The group frowned, not looking forward to the role the two of them would play in the next couple of volumes.
General Ironwood fires his gun but then looks down in shame.
The group narrowed their eyes. What were the implications of that? Was that going to be another scene shown that will come true like in Volume 6?
A gust of snow blew, covering him and showing Jacque and Whitley.
The students, especially Winter, scoffed in disgust at the mere sight of that man, hating how he was going to have a role. Winter and Weiss then frowned upon looking at Whitley. They hoped it wasn't too late and there could be a way to save him too.
Weiss looked back at her sister who crossed her arms.
Winter was happy that she was able to spend more time with her sister, at least to some kind of capacity. Raider snapped her fingers again and Winter was in her new outfit. Winter should have seen it coming, but the magic still caught her off-guard.
Maria and Pietro smiled forward, and Team RWBY and all of their friends were scattered on the rooftops.
That was another thing they felt was foreshadowing something, they just didn't know what.
Penny innocently smiled before going to Yang activating her semblance to fire at a pack of sabyrs. Through the smoke, Nora rides on Magnhild with Ren behind her as well as Jaune slashing at the Grimm.
"Yes! Here's our new outfits too!" Nora shouted gleefully, Ren nodding along with her. With a final snap, Team JNR was in their new clothes and Nora was ecstatic. Pyrrha was internally swooning at Jaune's outfit. Once again, though, Raider kept Jaune's hair the same. Both Jaune and Blake were going to ask her about it when this was over.
A geist possessing chunks of ice smashed its arm down. Jaune avoided it and the Ace-Ops joined the battle.
"Again?!" Team RNJR yelled in dismay. They had to deal with another one?
Elm ran across the arm and brought her hammer down. Robyn stood and watched as angry Mantle civilians threw rocks at the screen showing General Ironwood.
All of them were curious about her role, she clearly had something against Ironwood.
The screen switched to show Jacque.
The sisters were now worried about what their father had to do with any of this. They didn't want to see any more of him than was necessary. That went for all of them.
Oscar was in combat with General Ironwood.
Another moment they believed to have some kind of double meaning. Were they just training or was it hinting at something else?
Weiss and Blake both sliced through more Grimm in a cave and Robyn and Qrow were fighting together against Tyrian.
Yang and Ruby worried for their uncle's safety, praying that it didn't have the same outcome as last time.
Ruby cuts through more Grimm becoming a silhouette with the rest of her team, their signature colors breaking the white. Everyone is shown together in a huddled group. The Staff of Creation is briefly shown in quick rays of light.
The episode ends and they were all still pumped about all the sequences and the transitions. There was so much to digest and there were plenty of moments where they think it's trying to tell them all something.
"Hey, Raider, when you gave us our new outfits, you left both my and Blake's hair alone. I was just curious, why?" Jaune asks."Because whether or not you want your hair to be the same as the one in the show, it isn't my right to decide that. That's a choice you make on your own accord. Sure, I could do it and if it's not like then I could change it, but it's not about that, it's about you yourself making the choice if you want to cut or change it. So, I won't be doing anything with your hair, because that is your choice." Both of them nodded in understanding. "So, I won't be going anywhere near your hair, that's your decision to make. Other than that, what did you think about the first episode of Volume 7?"