Original concept by Korra
Written by MechaG11

Part Two: Remnant Divided Arc
-Chapter 15: What Isn't Broken

Ruby holds herself still as Yang affixes the chest plate around her torso. After adjusting and securing the fit just right, Yang pulls Ruby's red cloak over her sister's head and completes the assortment. Ruby watches as Yang steps back, her older sister smiling after taking a good look at Ruby's new attire. "Looks good! How's it feel?" Yang asks.

Ruby moves her arms and torso around, making sure none of the armor restricts her movement. It was surprisingly accommodating despite the plating. After all, the last thing a Huntress would want is equipment that impaired her movement. Ruby looks back at Yang and smiles. "Fits like a dream!" Her attention turns away from Yang, immediately choosing to zip towards the nearest reflective surface to use as a mirror. She fixates on the S-symbol on her chest plate. "So cool." she utters to herself in geeky fashion.

Weiss approaches Ruby, having just put on her own new Regime attire. She makes a skeptical look as she peeks at the same reflection Ruby was staring at. "Did you both really need to include Superman's symbol?"

"Well yours doesn't look too different from your old one." Yang comments. "It's just your normal outfit with some, uh...military stuff on it."

"Don't fix what isn't broken." Weiss replies. "Besides, you two don't seem to have changed much either."

"Hey now, it's not a crime for a Huntress to do her thing and look good while doing it." Yang says, shrugging with a smug wink and grin.

Ruby turns around. "To tell you the truth, Weiss, it's not just about looking cool." she says. "I've been thinking a lot about what Ironwood said to me, and how I've messed things up. I...just have to be better, and what better way to be better than to take inspiration from one of the best heroes around?" she says, proudly bearing her Superman symbol while striking the hero's signature pose.

Yang chuckles, and then ruffles Ruby's hair. "Just remember that you're a hero in your own right, okay?"

Ruby scrunches her face upon the brief ruffling, but then goes back to smiling once her sister was done doting on her. "Right!" she agrees.

Weiss smiles in acceptance of Ruby's explanation. "I guess we all have our own heroes we look up to here. So long as you do your best, I'll just have to do so as well." she says. "Besides, I can't have you upstaging me, can I?"

Ruby smiles at Weiss remark, before shifting to a look of shock. "Oh my gosh! I forgot Cyborg was testing his new experiment today! He offered to have us watch and I totally forgot!" she exclaims. She dashes off out of the room before anyone can say anything.

"C'mon!" Yang says, as she leads Weiss out of the room towards Ruby. Weiss follows suit as they pursue the trail of petals left behind.

Ruby's dash stops dead in front of one of the secure doors, unable to open unless an access code is keyed in. "Uhh, um...gah! What was it again?" Ruby fidgets, inputting numbers quickly into the number pad.

The other two girls catch up to Ruby, Weiss rolling her eyes at the sad display. "Ugh, move over. I'll do it."

"No, I swear I remember it!" Ruby says, resisting as the two begin to bicker over the code.

Yang smiles at the two, enjoying their playful squabble. While waiting for the two to sort out the door, she hears a mechanical door open on the opposite side of the hall. It takes only a moment for Yang to recognize her mother stepping through. Raven stops, her eyebrows raised in surprise once she recognizes Yang in the distance. Mother and daughter's eyes meet in a brief but still moment. Raven, unsure of what to say, retreats by conspicuously turning her attention away to another hallway and walks through it. Yang expresses confusion, feeling so quickly dismissed by her mother's reaction. Her expression hardens for a moment, casting the thought away. If Raven didn't want to see her, she'll stay out of the way. Given Raven's absence most of her life, it's not like she expected her mom to shower her with kind words and open arms the moment they saw each other again for the first time. When really thinking on it, Yang didn't really know what she'd say to her mother anyway.

Ruby childishly pushes Weiss' face away at arms length with one hand, finally managing to key in the correct pass-code for the door with the other. "Ha! See, I remember it!" She stops pushing Weiss, causing her to dust herself off.

"Yeah, and it only took longer than it needed to because you were throwing a fuss over it!" Weiss points out.

Ruby ignores her. "Let's get going! I don't wanna miss the demonstration!" Ruby exclaims. She dashes off once more, prompting Yang and Weiss to pursue again. She quickly reaches her destination and opens the door, the three finally able to witness Cyborg's latest development. The three stare curiously as Cyborg stands in the room with Jaune, discussing something with a few Atlesian engineers and what look to be scientists.

"Jaune?" Weiss questions.

Cyborg turns to see the three girls. "Sorry, kid. For someone as fast as you, I figured you'd be in time for the show."

"Aww man…" Ruby complains. "Wait, so why is Jaune here?"

"He was the first volunteer." Cyborg says, gesturing to Jaune. "Cooked up some old nano-tech of mine. The 5-U-93-R, or 'Super Pill' if you wanna be cute." he explains.

"Pill?" Weiss questions. "Pill like the medicine or vitamins?"

"Something like that." Cyborg says. "You could say it's the strongest vitamin out there. Swallow one of these, and you'll get a physical boost similar to Superman's." he explains.

"Wait?! You're saying Jaune is about to be as strong as Superman?!" Ruby asks.

"Well, close to it. Can't exactly copy the real thing." Cyborg explains. "Why don't we test it out?" Cyborg nudges Jaune's arm. "Think you're ready, kid?"

"Uh...sure." Jaune says, slightly nervous.

"Give him your best punch, Yang. No holding back." Cyborg tells her.

Yang looks at him speculatively. "You sure about this? I'd rather not hurt him right after all the hard work you just put into him."

Jaune clears his throat and steps forward. "Trust me, Yang, I'm ready for it."

Yang shrugs. "Alright, don't say I didn't warn ya." Everyone steps back, Yang standing closer to Jaune and reeling back her fist. Her strike goes right for his chest, but Jaune is able to perceive the travel path of the punch in a way he's never done before. His hand moves up to meet Yang's fist, catching a strike like a catcher's mitt in baseball. The collision creates a minor shock wave in the air, the wind briefly pushing back any hair, clothing, and kicking up papers.

"Whoa." Ruby says in awe.

Yang looks at him, at first confused, but then impressed. "Huh, looks like it worked after all." she says as she pulls her hand back.

"Ugh, still hurts though." Jaune mentions, shaking off the ache in his palm.

"You'll get used to it." Yang promises, speaking from experience.

Weiss looks over to Cyborg. "So I take it the experiment was a success?"

"You can say that." Cyborg says. He projects a hologram off of his wrist, displaying various analyses and biological data. "Physical strength, speed, durability, and reaction time are up. We happened to notice one side effect though…" He switches the holographic display to show Jaune's aura level, which reads at zero.

"No...aura?" Ruby asks.

"Seems that something about huntsmen physiology is affected by the nano-tech." he explains. "You get the desired benefits, but lose your aura-based powers."

Yang scratches her head. "I don't know...sounds like a pretty big downside to me."

"Maybe…" Cyborg says. "Look at it this way: While we can't exactly create Super-Huntsmen, any non-powered citizen can gain the strength needed to fight for the Regime. It'll make a huge difference with our numbers."

"...could we turn the tide against the Grimm?" Ruby asks.

"We can only hope." Cyborg says.

Weiss holds her chin, contemplating the situation. "If we have that many super soldiers...why have huntsmen at all from this point?"

"Well," Ruby says. "We'd still have powers that they don't. It's better if we have a lot of people with different abilities in general. The more the merrier."

"Right on the money, kid." Cyborg affirms.

Yang looks at Jaune with some concern. "Are you really okay with losing your aura like this? I mean, you never even got to find out what your semblance is." she says.

Jaune shrugs. "I guess the funny thing about not knowing what my semblance is is that I can't exactly miss it." Jaune says. "These powers might feel different, but maybe...maybe I can make a difference now. When we were students, Pyrrha always saw something in me. Maybe she thought I could become a real hero like her, like you guys" Jaune holds his fist out for them to join. "I wanna make good on that. I want to finally fight with you guys, if you'll have me."

The three girls exchange glances, then look to Jaune. To their surprise, Weiss is the first to reach her fist out next to Jaune's. "We'll all make good on that...for Pyrrha." she says.

Ruby looks at Yang, then steels her expression. "For Uncle Qrow." she adds, before joining them.

Yang nods at Ruby in agreement. "Together." she says.

The group stands together, Cyborg outside of their circle. He couldn't help but feel a bit envious, recalling old times with the Titans. "Yeah, well I've got some work to get done. Jaune, you tell me if anything changes or if you feel funny, got it?"

Jaune pulls back and then turns to Cyborg. "Oh! Uh, right! I'll do that." He stands at attention, briefly saluting. The others look at him strangely, prompting him to immediately put his arm back down. Cyborg nods, and then leaves the room.

Raven enters Ironwood's office, the conspicuously concealed windows preventing the daylight from reaching inside. She steps in and crosses her arms. "So, general, call me here to make me do your dirty-work?"

General Ironwood waits at his desk, a little annoyed by Raven's demeanor. "Strange, after falling in with bandits, I would have thought you'd be used to getting your hands dirty."

Raven scoffs at him. "What do you want, General?"

Ironwood looks down, pausing to find the words. "I want to entrust something to you."

"Pfft, really?" Raven says, almost mockingly. "You seem to have plenty of new friends around. Why not 'entrust' whatever it is to them?"

"That's exactly what I'm worried about." the General says. He stands up, pushing a button and projecting a hologram on his desk. A photo and analysis of Harbinger, Qrow's sword, is put on display. Raven squints seriously at it, not exactly enthusiastic about seeing a reminder of her late brother. Ironwood continues: "During our raid at Beacon, Qrow was impaled by his own sword by Bat-"

"I don't need your recounting of what's already public knowledge, General." Raven interrupts. "Between the Bat-Boy wanted posters and the news covering my brother's death, I think I'm more than informed about it." she complains, sounding exhausted about the subject.

Ironwood explains on, despite her complaints. "I conducted an analysis of the scene. Upon further examination, and some prints I had collected in secret, we found this." He clicks a button, pulling up scans that show fingerprints on Qrow's sword handle. The prints collected match that of Superman's.

Raven seems puzzled. "So the blue boy scout killed Qrow. Wasn't my brother fighting against you both anyways?"

"It's not knowing that he killed Qrow that bothers me." Ironwood explains. "In combat or self-defense, that would have made sense. No, what troubles me is that he lied about it."

Raven stops crossing her arms. "So it's strange, but why tell me?"

"I'm sure you're more than aware of just how powerful the heroes are." Ironwood says. "If they had any reason to turn that against us-"

Raven gestures for him to stop with her hand. "General, you've chosen to take these people into your fold. It's not my problem if they become the dominant hand." she says. She turns away from him, about the exit the room. "Looks like we might find ourselves in the same position now. If I were you, I'd come to accept that as soon as possible."

Ironwood sits back down at his desk, forming a fist in one hand. "I hoped that maybe I was wrong about you, but I see that nothing's changed." he says with clear disappointment in his voice.

Raven stops just before crossing through the door, pausing as she briefly hangs on his words. "Goodbye, General." Raven says before walking out.

Salem walks gracefully through the corridors of her lair, her elegance betraying her more monstrous features. She enters a lower chamber, the room's red interior dimly lit. Inside there is a contraption of some sort, restraining a beowolf as a scraggly-looking scientist inserts a needle into the beast. A glowing green fluid drains and is injected into the beowolf, causing the creature to convulse and screech in pain. Its muscles begin to spasm as it grows in mass, new spikes emerging and existing ones becoming larger. The beast outgrows the restrictions of the contraption, violently snapping the metallic restraints as the beowolf rises to its feet. It pulses with a green glow, the monster now more aggressive and its howl deeper. The scientist backs away cautiously as the beowolf turns to him, its red gaze conveying its murderous intent. It raises its claw in the air, ready to strike. "No!" the scientist protests, his arms moving to shield himself. Salem merely raises her hand, her motion alone commanding the beast to cease its course of action. The beowolf obeys immediately, lowering its arms and becoming docile as can be for a Grimm. The scientist turns to face Salem, previously unaware of her presence in the room. "S-Salem…" he utters, before adjusting himself.

"Doctor Merlot." Salem addresses him. "I see you've rediscovered some success."

"Y-yes. As promised, my formula works without fail. I simply needed the right resources." Merlot says. "Without more though...I can't replicate the number you've asked of-."

Salem gestures for him to stop speaking. "Watts has secured the resources you need. They will be arriving in a matter of days." She looks upon Merlot, noticing how unkempt and worse for wear he is. "I suggest you rest in the meantime, Doctor. I suspect you'll find yourself quite occupied soon, and we wouldn't want you breaking before your work is done now, would we?" she posits to him.

Merlot stares back at her uneasily. "N-no. No, we wouldn't." he agrees.

"Good Doctor." Salem says, before leaving the room. The pale witch strolls through the halls of her castle, stopping to gaze through one of the large windows. Suddenly, she feels a strange coldness run through her being.

"They are coming." a disembodied voice says to her.

Salem quickly turns around, seeking the source of the strange voice. Nothing. Nothing in her surroundings. She stands at attention, preparing to step away from the window. "Who?" Salem asks, hoping to coax an answer.

"At this very moment, your foes gather." the voice says.

Salem begins to walk down one of the halls, seeking the other that speaks to her. She recognizes it somewhat, the voice from a dream some time ago. "These so-called 'heroes?'" she guesses.

"Heroes? Villains? Do any such lines exist among your enemies? You've warred with both over a millennia, have you not?" the voice asks.

Salem chases the whispers down more halls, her walk becoming a pace. "And all who have tried fell. Be it heroics or foolishness, they have proven time and again how meaningless their struggle is. Nothing can slay or contain me. I am ceaseless." Salem states.

"Yet that very lack of finality confines you." the voice says.

While nothing but empty space is before her, Salem marches forward, believing herself to be drawing closer to the source. "Am I to see a point in all of this, or do you intend to subject me to more vague words and riddles?" she asks.

"With the coming of your doom, a choice must be made." the voice promises.

Salem stops. "State your intent." she demands. "I don't wish to repeat myself."

The voice explains: "When your adversaries arrive, so too will your end. Yet, when it comes, do not bat death's hand away. Embrace it, like a loved one you have so yearned for."

Salem scoffs at the comment. As fast as it came, the cold feeling now fades and disappears. She looks around, no further whispers calling to her. The witch ponders the state of her mind. She hoped her senses are not all lost, but with her unending existence she dared to consider the possibility. Salem composes herself and discards the thought. Her attention is wrested by an approaching Seer, its faint yellow glow blinking to beckon her into following. A guest of interest was arriving soon. Salem nods, and follows the creature out of the building.

The Seer leads Salem to a nearby shore, where the two await the arrival of their guest. The water rises as a Grimm Leviathan breaches the water, the massive creature slowly making its way to land. It lowers its head, opening its maw to release its passengers. Salem watches as the Hound steps out of the creature, as does a shorter woman in red: Neopolitan. Something was different though, and Salem could feel it through Neo herself. She lifts her finger slightly out of curiosity as if to flex control over her, a movement that made Neo's body twitch but for a moment. Like the control she exerts over the Grimm and Cinder, the same substance that granted her control was within Neo as well. "Most interesting." Salem says, smiling at Neo.

Neo grimaces at Salem, bearing her teeth. Once her eyes truly fixate on the witch, she feels a boiling heat slowly rise in her blood. While the conflict brewing in her body held one side willing to obey, it is muted by the overwhelming feeling of anger. Neo doesn't know how, but her mind is filled with a certainty beyond her own understanding. This woman, this witch before her...Neo could feel and understand the nigh-insurmountable scale of Salem's wrongdoings, the vastness of the number of her victims. Neo felt compelled to believe this fact more than any other person existing, and vengeance demanded Salem's head. The small girl normally didn't care about justice, but the compulsion tempted her with the promise of release, catharsis. Doesn't Salem control the Grimm? Salem's the real reason she and Roman got in this whole mess from the start. That was cause enough to be enable the boiling rage in her blood.

Salem's expression shifts, noticing a spark of violent intent in Neo's eye. The small girl's pupils burn bright red before she vomits a stream of rage up onto Salem's face. The witch recoils as the burning fluid singes her flesh. Neo continues to expel the rage, eager to melt Salem down as her victim falls to one knee. Suddenly, a scorched hand outstretches from the red substance and grabs Neo's face. Lightning sparks brightly from Salem's hand, electrocuting Neo as she tries to break out of the witch's grasp. Neo's red lantern aura burns brighter as it helps her break free of Salem's grip. Salem stands, her face regenerating after the attack. The three nearby Grimm stand ready to attack Neo, but Salem simply dismisses them with a hand. The beasts hesitantly obey, feeling unease and aggression towards Neo. Still, they obey their queen, who elects to fight the small girl on her own. It wasn't a matter of pride, but a lesson in futility. The student: Neo.

Salem brings her hands close together, expanding the space between them as a fireball begins to manifest. She casts the burning orb towards Neo. The small girl tries to escape it in the air, but has no choice but to halt its progress with her protective red aura. With a wide swing of her arms, the fireball is extinguished. Salem grins, holding up both of her hands and performing crooked gestures with her fingers. Neo feels the Grimm influence in her body attempt to take hold again, but the red lantern rage fights back and suppresses it. She demonstrates full control of her body and self, proving Salem's attempt fruitless. The witch is undeterred, rather satisfied that her ploy worked. Neo has failed to notice the lightning cloud that had been conjuring above, and is struck by a massive bolt of lightning before her guard could be raised.

"Is it revenge or plain madness that compels you, girl?" Salem questions as Neo lies on the ground. Neo's hand balls up into a fist and juts forward, firing a dense red beam from her ring. The laser strikes Salem cleanly in the face, scorching through a majority of the left half and pushing it back. Once Neo withdraws her hand, Salem stands motionless with a clean chunk missing from her head. Neo hears the fleshy sound of Salem's regeneration as the witch's head returns to its natural position. As Salem's face comes back to form, her gaze fixates on Neo. "Perhaps both." Salem concludes.

The small girl simply growls and produces two large construct arms, the giant red hands flanking Salem's sides and caging her. Salem attempts to hold each at bay with her own outstretched limbs, but Neo manages to overpower and contain her within the construct's grip. With an inhale, Neo reels back and vomits the strongest stream of Red Lantern rage yet. Salem struggles as she is engulfed by the stream of burning liquid, almost screeching and howling from the pain and anger. She squirms and snaps at Neo, scorched down to the point where only her skeleton was left to roar at the girl through the bright red stream. Neo refuses to stop, pouring on her rage until Salem was as good as gone.

Neo retracts her arm constructs, panting as a mix of steam and smoke rises all around the blast zone. In the wake of Neo's attack, only minor flames, glass, and deep black marks are left upon the ground. Whatever was left of Salem's body was now a cooked smear upon the ground. Neo pants heavily, collapsing backwards into a sitting position on the ground. Her Red Lantern ring sizzles, taxed from overuse and lack of recharge. "Good riddance." she thought, as her rage subsided and the red glow in her eyes dimmed. She hears a loud crack just below her, causing her gaze to snap towards the ground.

An outstretched Grimm hand extends from the growing crevice and grasps her arm. She tries to yank herself away from it, stopped only by the emergence of a second and third Grimm arm. Neo struggles against their grip as a thick, black tar begins to bubble out of the breach in the rock beneath her. They're dragging her under, trying to submerge her in a quickly growing Grimm Pool. Panic settles in, her movements becoming erratic as she tries to avoid the fate she once endured before. Her Red Lantern aura blinks and fizzles as her frenzied mind battles her ability to focus on her rage. Not even ten seconds pass before she is dragged under the black mass, her flailing limbs kicking up the encompassing sludge.

Not amount of arm strength mustered could break the hold of the Grimm hands. Neo desperately needed to climb up, to at least free her head for a breath in open air. She would need to fight through the constant malicious strikes that the Grimm liquid forced her body to receive, impacts that assaulted her inside and out thanks to what was already in her blood. Neo gives up on freeing her neck from the arms, instead prioritizing grabbing at the nearby rocky surfaces she knew surrounded her. Her fingers scrape at the hard surfaces, managing to catch at some protruding ground and extending her other arm out of the liquid. Something catches her arm, a hand as cold as ice. The strength of the grip didn't pull her, but instead seemed to be holding her in place. A bitter coldness creeps down her forearm, her limb slowly becoming encased in ice.

Salem, with her body now partially regenerated, smirks. "Why thanks, Neo." she says, smugly. With a harsh pull, Salem rips Neo's frigid forearm off with a glass-like shattering sound. Salem holds up the disembodied arm, Neo's frozen hand adorned with the red ring. "This gift was quite thoughtful." she comments.

Neo struggles silently under the Grimm pool, her detachment from the red ring breaking off her connection to its power. Red Lantern Rage exorcises itself from Neo's body, leaving nothing else but the Grimm liquid to take its place. With that, she simply fades.

Salem watches as the red Rage flows out of the black pool and into the sky, disappearing beyond her sight. She looks back at the ring on Neo's hand, her eyes studying it. She pinches at its form, plucking it off of the frozen finger. It was the source of Neo's new power, a tool she may yet be able to utilize. Curious as to how its power worked, she attempts to slip it onto her own hand. The ring jolts, Salem barely able to catch it in time. The flying ring shakes in her grasp, trying to escape into space. She would not allow it, mustering her strength and forcing it unto her finger. The ring slips on, and glows as it violently attacks her. The pain surges through her arm, the intensity burning her veins and muscles from the inside. The power in this ring, by its nature, existed in stark opposition to her very being. Salem scoffs and growls at its defiance, spiting its attempt at retaliation. She reels back her fist, plunging her hand into the Grimm pool beneath her.

Salem allows the black liquid to engulf the ring, struggling through the pain to hold this insubordinate object in place. "Obey...me!" she commands it through her gritted teeth, the Grimm liquid seeping into the very mechanisms that dwell within. The weakened ring is forcefully subjected to the liquid's influence and attacks, submission creeping in as every second that passes allows more corruption to take root. Salem feels her own blood fighting back against the ring's burning intrusion, her forearm restoring her body's natural coldness within. She withdraws her arm from the pool, gazing upon the ring once more. The ring's surface darkened, and what remained of its original red color bled through its black surface like veins. Salem felt a natural authority over the ring, as if she could tell it was waiting to receive her next command. With that, she extends her hand and exercises her power. A surge of black rage and even hints of elemental sorcery expel themselves from the ring. Salem smiles with satisfaction. Not only did it produce its own energy enabled by her wrath, but she could even channel her own powers to bolster its effects. "Well, that is interesting." she comments to herself.

The nearby Grimm begin to fall-in around their queen, Salem spinning around towards her castle to return to it. She holds her head high, almost in defiant pride. Foolishness. If this was the best her new enemies could muster, death remains far from a reality for her. She discards the propositions of the mysterious disembodied voice, marching on to live out the only reality that remains proven and uncontested: Her life, her reign...is eternal.