*(Y/N) POV*

I continue to slash some Sabyrs, protecting another airship. Soon the last civilian boards and the ship flies towards Atlas. Then I get a message over comms

(Y/N): "Yhm. Wait... But we still... Okay, roger" I put Mortem back to it's compact mode and soon I made it to the ship. Not long after everyone gets here and we fly back to Atlas with Harriet and Elm

Weiss: "I don't understand. Why would the General call us back without giving a reason?"

Ryze: "Yeah. We're more needed down there"

Ren: "Especially with evacuations still going on in Mantle"

Elm: "You don't have to understand orders, kids. You just have to follow them"

(Y/N): "At least tell us why James called us back when our job is not done"

Harriet: "It is. If the General needs us now, he needs us now. Civilian transports won't be stopping anytime soon"

Jaune: "You all get to the General and find out what's happening. We'll bring Oscar and see you soon"

We reach the Atlas Academy and immediately make our way to James' office. Inside, the General sits in his seat, a black bag on his desk. He turn to us, with a look of melancholy on his face with his left arm wrapped in bandages

Harriet: "General Ironwood?"

Ironwood: "We have made a critical error. he place a black queen chess piece on the desk "he black queen was the symbol Salem showed us before we lost everything. Her way of telling us she was inside. That we couldn't stop her. I captured Watts, and we got Callows, but SOMEONE got in here. They put this in MY office to tell ME that it wa-what if Mantle was just a distraction? What if it was just to draw us away from the academy, to-to-to"

(Y/N): "General! You need to calm down. Freaking out like that will only play us right into the hands of Salem"

Ryze: "We're winning this fight. Mantle is now with Atlas"

Ironwood: "What if that was part of their plan as well? How do we know that they didn't want us to bring people into Atlas by the thousands?!"

Vine: "In turning our eyes to the world, we kept our eyes off from the inside"

Ironwood: "Salem has been one step ahead of us this ENTIRE TIME!" he slams his fist onto the table, breaking it, causing the chess piece to fall and roll on its side. Ruby then realizes something

Ruby: "It's... glass. Black glass. Which can only mean..."

(Y/N): "That Cinder is alive. And she is here, and that means... she is going after Winter Maiden..."

Yang: "What? But how?! (Y/N), you told us she is dead!"

(Y/N): "I told you she is either dead or badly injured! But if she is here..."

Ironwood: "Then Hazel may likely be here as well"

(Y/N): "And Tick"

Blake: "Sir, this isn't over yet. We're with you" James stare at us

Ironwood: "Are you with me?" Blake steps back while the Ace Ops stare at us "How did Robyn Hill know about the global communications tower?" I look over to Team RWBY only to see Blake and Yang are looking nervous. Ryze then breaths in and out before stepping forward

Ryze: "We told her. To be more specific I told her"

Elm: "You did what?" Yang gets next to Ryze

Yang: "We were trying to help!"

Marrow: "By going behind our backs?"

Harriet: "Wait. Does that mean you let her escape the night of the ambush?"

Yang: "Robyn is on our side. She always has been!"

Ironwood: "We didn't know that for sure"

Weiss: "None of that matters right now!"

Ironwood: "Loyalty always matters!"

The black bag on James' desk opens up and red tentacles spring forth beside James. he yelps and moves away, aiming his revolver at the Grimm. Everyone tenses up upon seeing it

???: "General Ironwood" a female voice rings out before the Grimm's tentacles curl in on itself and its head cracks. The Grimm dies and falls to the ground, only for black mist to pour out of its head, and take the form of... Salem

(Y/N): "She is here...."

Salem: "The Huntsmen and Huntresses have bested Arthur Watts. Congratulations. I must admit, you have done well"

Ruby: "We stopped Tyrian too. And we'll stop Cinder, and anyone else you send our way"

Salem: "Dear child, their goal was never to achieve victory. It was merely to set the stage"

Ironwood: "For what?" Salem turns to James and smiles

Salem: "For me" she drifts over to James "Time isn't on your side, James. It's always been on mine. The people of Atlas have suffered enough. Surrender the staff and the lamp to me, and they needn't suffer any further" James lower his gun

Ironwood: "That's... not going to happen. I won't become another one of your slaves like Lionheart" Salem leans closer to him

Salem: "Simply accept the futility of your situation. This can all be over"

(Y/N): "Fuck you" Salem turns to me "We all saw your past, Salem. We saw what you are capable of. The lamp showed us" Ruby walks next to me

Ruby: "It showed us everything. We've seen that you can't be killed. But we've also seen you fail"

(Y/N): "We don't have to kill you to stop you"

Ruby: "And we will stop you"

Salem: "Your mother and your father said those words to me" Ruby is shocked while I grind my teeth and clench my fists with my head down

Ruby: "My... mother?"

(Y/N): "Dad...?"

Salem: "They failed too"

Ruby begins to cry as her eyes flare out from the flood of emotions. She stumbles and falls onto her knees, Yang is quick to help her sister, placing her on her knees as she cries. I turn to Salem, as my fingernails draws blood from my hands

(Y/N): "I don't care if you're immortal. I don't care if my dad and Ruby's mom died trying to stop you. Know one thing. When I get to you, I WILL make you pay for both of their deaths! We saw you fail, we saw you diving into the pit of Grimm, and let me tell you, your mind games won't work on me. I'm not afraid of you! Now..." Salem smiles at me. I close my eyes and soon open them only to white light surround the room, when it dies out Salem illusion is nowhere to be found "Fuck off..." I get near Yang, taking Ruby from her and gently petting her hair, trying to calm her down "Petals. It's okay, I'm here" Everyone looks to us

Marrow: "That's Salem? That's who we're up against?"

Ryze: "And now she's on her way"

Elm: "But, we would've learned of any approaching enemy forces. We have long-range sensors on the coast. They would've picked them up" Vine checks is scroll

Vine: "They're all offline. We were so focused on the chaos within that we never noticed"

Sam: "Either Watts shut them down-"

Ironwood: "Or they were already destroyed" he looks out the window

Harriet: "But how? I mean a few, yes, but... all of them?"

Mako: "General, you said the Amity tower was completed. Is it?" James remains silent, as I get shocked

(Y/N): "No... you said it as a bait in order to lure Watts out" James still is silent

Weiss: "General Ironwood?"

Ironwood: "I've already sent your sister to claim the power of the Winter Maiden" Weiss gasps

Weiss: "You... what?"

Ironwood: "When I learned that we've been compromised, I knew we couldn't wait any longer. The staff and the lamp have to be locked away" Ruby tries to stand up. I help her and she wipes her tears

Ruby: "But... you said we could keep the lamp"

Ironwood: "That was before you lied to me about the lamp. Before you lied to me about Robyn. Before Salem was right at our doorstep! Before Mantle was nearly destroyed and my army left exhausted!" he hits he black bag off his desk. He takes a moment and puts his pistol down "The timeline has changed. So we must change accordingly" he picks up the chess piece and crushes it

Harriet: "What are our orders sir?" I get near Ryze

(Y/N): "Get ready to kick ass if needed" I whisper and he nods

Ironwood: "We are going to take our plan for Amity tower and apply it to Atlas"

Ruby: "What?!"

Ironwood: "It was Oz's plan, a lifetime ago, but he never took it far enough. By utilizing the power of the Staff of Creation, we can raise Atlas up into the upper atmosphere. The city's artificial climate will keep citizens and food supplies unharmed. And it will keep the relic and the Maiden out of reach of whatever Salem could throw at us"

Blake: "But we're nowhere near finished evacuating everyone! You'd be leaving Mantle to die"

Ironwood: "Yes... I would" there is no emotion in his voice, shocking most of us "We can't allow Salem to capture the Relics or get her hands on the Maiden. This is our best chance of keeping them safe"

Ruby: "But... we have an opportunity to reunite the world. If we launch the tower, we can work together again. We could even call for help. If we can hold out long enough-"

Ironwood: "Sometimes, doing the right thing means making tough decisions"

(Y/N): "James, you're not making a tough decision. This is not right. You're running away, being afraid of Salem. You'd leave thousands of innocent people to die so you can live. And you said you would not end up like Lionheart. How well did that turn out?"

Blake: "General, we can still do this. We have to hold our ground and fight together"

Mako: "I agree"

However Ace Ops seems to have a different idea. We look back at them

Harriet: "We exhausted our forces down in Mantle. If we try that again against an even larger force, it won't end well"

Ruby: "You can't just give up. You're Huntsmen and Huntresses"

Vine: "You're focusing on one battle, but we are fighting a war here"

Weiss: "What about the council? What will they say about this?"

Ironwood: "Nothing... Once I've declared martial law"

(Y/N): "You... you really doing this, James?"

Sam: "Don't you care about what will happen to the people down in Mantle?"

Elm: "Who exactly are you loyal to?"

Ryze: "We are loyal to people we swore to protect and save"

Ironwood: "We are saving who we can... And you're standing in our way" We stand defiantly against James. Just then Ruby's scroll rings with Jaune on the other side

Jaune: "Hey, it's Jaune. We've got a serious problem on our end"

Ruby and James have a stare-down, but then she uses her semblance to zip behind his desk and calls Jaune

Ruby: "Ironwood's declaring martial law and abandoning Mantle. Salem is coming and he's going to use the staff to move Atlas. If we don't stop him, Mantle's going to be destro-" James however cuts the comms

Ironwood: "I'm sorry it's come to this, but until Atlas and the Relics are safe, you are all under arrest"

(Y/N): "You think we will let you take us without a fight? You're wrong, Ironwood"

Ironwood: "I know" he leaves the room while the Ace Ops stands in our way

(Y/N): "So that's how we're gonna do this..." I breathe in and out, as fire gets around my eyes "Good"

Weiss: "(Y/N), calm down" she turns to Ace Ops "Please, his doesn't have to be this way" however, they are not so receptive to her words

Harriet: "The General has given his orders. Until this is done, you're under arrest" she hits a button on her scroll, causing steel barriers to form on the door and on the windows

Yang: "Are you serious?"

Vine: "Please, don't make this difficult"

Ryze: "No, you're the ones making this difficult. Can't you think for yourselves for once. Some things are more important than following orders for fuck sake!"

Harriet: "This is your last warning..." Ace Ops bring out their weapons "Surrender peacefully or we'll take you by force"

We get ready to fight, but I turn to Ruby

(Y/N): "Ruby, when I give you a sign, you and the girls make a run for it. Find Oscar and the Relic. Stop Ironwood. And get to the Winter Maiden before Winter or Cinder can claim her power. We'll take care of the Ace Ops"

Ruby: "But (Y/N), we can't just leave you to fight them by yourselves"

(Y/N): "Don't worry, my Rose. We won't lose to them. Me and Ryze will meet you by the Maiden" Ruby nods and things remain silent for a while "NOW!" using a large fireball I blast a hole through the armored windows behind me, allowing girls to escape

Harriet: "Don't let them get-" she ducks under a vine from Sam

Sam: "If I were you, I would be worried about us" we get our weapons out

Harriet: "Heh, you really think you can beat us? We're the best Huntsmen in Atlas"

Ryze: "You were..."

Mako: "Until we arrived here" this angers the Ace Ops

*3rd POV*

(Y/N) smashes his fist enveloped in fire into the ground, sending a firewall to blind them. Harriet looks up, only to see (Y/N) grab her by the neck as he flies by the other Ace Ops and smashes her into the floor of the center room and then jumps off into the room where the elevators are located. Meanwhile, Mako blocks a strike from Elm's hammer, Ryze slashes his blades at Vine and Sam clashes his sword against Marrow's boomerang. (Y/N) looks back only for Harriet to come in and deal a punch across his face as she races by. She runs around to make a fast kick, but he blocks it with his scythe and only slides back a little

The two stars circling each other

(Y/N): "I thought you are better than this, Hare. All of you. But instead of saving people you swore to protect, you all leave them to die because of an order!"

Harriet: "I thought that too, kid, yet, you choose to betray your own kingdom. Ironwood is trying to stop Salem and save Remnant. We can't let her get the relics"

(Y/N): "I didn't betray it... I'm trying to save it from a paranoid man like James. He is running away. This is exactly what she wants! I knew he would give in to his paranoia. And in the end, he become more of a coward than Lionheart"

Harriet growls and charges at (Y/N), who meet her halfway with a charge of his own as they smash their fists together

Meanwhile with Team RWBY, they break through another window somewhere near the dorms after their escape

Yang: "Okay, what do we do now?"

Ruby: "We do what (Y/N) told us. Weiss, you and I are going to find the Winter Maiden. Yang, Blake, try to find Oscar and the others. Later we need some way to get out of here"

The group nods and split off to complete their objectives

Back to Team CRMS, Mako throws a couple of steel punches at Elm, forcing her back a few steps. He then grabs her hammer and punches her in the face, knocking her back into the center room. Elm uses her semblance to plant her feet to the floor and blocks a punch from Mako. She then tries to headbutt him in the face, but Mako covers his skull in steel and blocks it. Elm gets stunned and Mako throws a headbutt of his own to knock her back. Ryze jumps around Mako, using his semblance to evade Vine's semblance arms. He fires his gun at him, but Vine uses his arms to block the bullets. At one point, Ryze fires off a wind shot that hits Vine's arm and pins it to the floor. He uses this chance to fly forward with his wind for a double dropkick to Vine's face, which sends him flying back. However, when Ryze lands, he gets hit hard in the side by Elm's hammer. Ace Ops regroup, the same as Team CRMS

Vine: "Please, come peacefully and we won't hurt you"

Elm: "Speak for yourself. They betrayed us!" she looks at (Y/N) "I thought we taught you better, (Y/N). But you choose to betray us all!" (Y/N) growls

Mako: "We betrayed you? You're betraying people you swore to protect!"

Sam: "Don't waste your energy, Mako. They never really cared about Mantle. The only person they care about protecting is Ironwood. They're just following orders like good little watchdogs now"

This angers Elm further and she charges at them while Vine heads up to one of the archways up above in the room, while Mako and Ryze charge at Elm together. Inside the office, Sam fights with Marrow. Sam twiels his sword around Marrow, who parries the strikes with his boomerang. Marrow goes for a low strike, but Sam backflips into the air and lands on the desk. Marrow throws his boomerang at Sam, but he deflects it and transforms his weapon into pistol forms and fires his guns at Marrow. Marrow catches his boomerang in time and spins it around to block the shots.

Marrow: "I still don't understand. Why don't you all see the bigger picture?" he turns his weapon into its rifle form and takes a few shots at Sam. Sam turns his guns back to sword and spins it around to block the shots

Sam: "You don't get it, Marrow. We don't fight for one kingdom, and we don't fight for one man either... "he uses his semblance to cover himself in vines, using it as some Iron Man armor, after that he conjures two large vine golems by his side "We fight for EVERYONE!" he prepares for the next round

Meanwhile with Weiss and Ruby, the two are on their way to the hospital wing Winter Maiden is kept

Ruby: "How much farther?

Weiss: "Not much. However, there will probably be a lot of security there. We need to be... careful..." Weiss trails off as they come around a corner, only to find dead Atlas soldiers littering the hallway. "...Oh no..."

Ruby: "This has to be Cinder. She's on her way to the Maiden"

???: "Not quite, but you're nearly there" they hear and look ahead to see Tick emerging from the shadows "I was hoping for Grimm Reaper. Why are you here?"

Ruby: "Tick... I knew that you would be here if Cinder is" she draws her scythe while Weiss draws her blade

Tick: "Oi, I remember you. You're Grimm Reaper's precious little flower" she chuckles "I really hoped to kill him here, but it would hurt him even more if I deliver your cold, dead corpse to him. Haha"

Weiss: "If I recall correctly, (Y/N) was throwing you from wall to wall back at Haven. You are not as strong as you think" Tick smirks and draws her swords

Tick: "Then come at me and test it, sugarcubes. Your last sixty seconds begins... NOW!"

Ruby and Weiss nod to each other before charging at Tick

Back with Team CRMS, Harriet zips around the corridor as she jumps to deal a double jump kick at (Y/N), but he blocks the strike and pushes her back. She runs to the side, hoping to hit his flank, but (Y/N) charges up his fire and sends a firewall that stops her advance. (Y/N) swings his scythe at her side, but she jumps back. However, (Y/N) keeps the swings coming, preventing her to come closer to him. He concentrates to activate Ignition, but Harriet uses this occasion to run around him. (Y/N) sends several fireballs at her, but she manages to avoid all of them and makes a few hit and run strikes on (Y/N). She then goes for his back, but (Y/N) moves his scythe around to block the punch and then throws a back kick to her stomach followed by a spinning slash across her chest

With Ryze and Mako, Mako makes a few strikes at Elm, but Elm evades them and swings her hammer around at him. Mako catches it in his hand, but Elm raises the hammer, and him, and swings it wide to send him flying across the room. However, she gets hit from behind by a few shots from Ryze, who charges at her, switching his weapon back to double swords. He throws a slash, but she leans back to evade it and swings her hammer down on him. Ryze activates his semblance, unleashing a wind force to push her back. However, Ryze has to jump back when Vine throws a large stone at him from the ceiling

Elm: "Enough of these games Vine. They had their chance. Don't be soft"

Vine: "Are you telling me? Or yourself?" he grabs a few more large stones

Mako and Ryze notice the disagreement in their ranks and smirk. not having to deal with this problem, the two charge at Elm. Elm swings her hammer, but Mako encases his right arm in steel spikes. He smashes his fist into the floor, sending out steel spikes to deflect her attack. Ryze jumps off of the spikes and flies at Vine, using his semblance to evade the stones he throws at him. Vine grabs Ryze mid air with his semblance arms and pulls him in. Ryze only smirks at this

Ryze: "You want to know the difference between us and you, Vine?"

Vine: "What would that be?"

Ryze smiles deviously, as white mist gets around his eyes. He uses the boost from Guardian's powers to pull himself down to the floor with a massive wind push, taking Vine with him. Ryze lands safely and then pushes off into the air as Vine falls towards him. Ryze throws a powerful uppercut into Vine's chest, sending him flying up and crashing into the ceiling above. As Vine falls, Ryze gets near him again, only to deliver an overhead swing with his blades, bringing Vine down fast and hard, causing him to smash into the floor and take out the rest of his aura as he passes out. Everyone else stops their fighting for a moment, with the Ace Ops members shocked to see one of their own actually lose to someone younger and with less experience than them

Ryze: "The difference is, unlike you, we are not fucking dogs on a leash"

With Sam, Marrow turns back to face him, only to have to jump to the side when a vinde golem tries to punch him down. Sam sends the other golem out to attack, forcing Marrow on the defensive. Sam jumps up and swings his sword at Marrow's side, but he manages to duck under it. He jumps back as another vine golem comes at him, and throws his boomerang at the second to take it out. Marrow focuses on the second golem, but doesn't noticed Sam holding a hand behind his back

Marrow: "Stay!" he snaps his fingers and uses his semblance to freeze the remaining golem in place

Sam twirls his sword around and slash at Marrow. Marrow deflects the strike with his boomerang, and kicks Sam back

Marrow: "Stay!" he uses his semblance again to freeze Sam in place, but the second vine golem attacks again

Marrow throws his boomerang at it, destroying it. However, when he turns around, a smaller vine golems hits him in the face, sending him flying into the wall. A vines then envelopes around Marrow's body, slowly making him lose his breath. He tries to get out, but vines only gets tighter around him

Marrow: "What's going on?!" he tries to take a breath, but couldn't

Sam: "Oh, a little string of Jimsonweed. This plant is a serious hallucination maker. It emits an oil that causes you to feel... quite unpleasant. You may feel disorientation and fear. Something that consumed Ironwood. Don't worry, it's not lethal. I'm not a monster like you or your boss" he swings his sword at Marrow before letting him free

He knocks Marrow into the air, before sending a somersault kick to smash him into the floor, shattering his Aura and rendering him unconscious.

Meanwhile with (Y/N), Harriet zipps around him, while he fires off a few fire shots, but misses every time. Harriet comes from the side to throw a clothesline, but (Y/N) leans back under it to evade the attack and then swings his scythe, sending a firewave aimed at Harrier. She dodges the attack

Harriet: "Hah, your 'little Rose' is fast, but I'm faster"

(Y/N) narrows his eyes, before concentrating. Harriet runs at him, but (Y/N) activates Ignition in its second stage, sending red flames all around him. Harriet gets knocked back by the blast, but rolls back onto her feet and takes off running again. She races around (Y/N), hoping to attack his blind spot, but (Y/N)'s eyes gets enveloped in fire for a while as Ignition turns to stage three and blue flame explodes around his body, throwing Harriet into a wall

(Y/N): "For your information, Hare, Ruby is much faster than you. She just didn't give her all on you" he smirks at her. Harriet growls and charges at him again.

Meanwhile with Elizabeth, Pietro and Maria, Elizabeth gets an arrest warrant for Team RWBY, Team CRMS and Qrow on her scroll. She drops it from the shock and Pietro notices this

Pietro: "Elly, is everything good?" he ask concerned

Elly: "We need to get kids out of there! James completely lost his mind!" Pietro and Maria's eyes widen

Pietro: "What?!"

Elly: "He put an arrest warrant on both Ruby and (Y/N)'s teams! Klein!"

Klein: "Yes, Mrs. (L/N)?"

Elly: "Get the airship ready, we are coming for our kids!" Klein smilles

Klein: "I'm working on it" he sneezes and his eyes turn to red "No one hurts my precious little snowflake!"

Maria: "Kid did it again, Elly. Whenever he goes, he brings trouble" she jokes

Elly: "Later mom, now let's go!"

Back to the Team CRMS, Mako throws at Elm, he spins like a drill, with his blades out. Elm deflects the strike with her hammer, but then Ryze spins around and fires his gun at her. Elm blocks the bullets, but can't block the bullets hitting her back from Mako. Elm turns to face him, while Mako charges at her. Elm changes her hammer into its rocket launcher form and takes aim as he gets close. She fires and the missiles explode right in front of her, causing her to use her semblance to keep herself from flying back. However, a steel hand emerges from the smoke and grabs the rocket launcher and then a second hand grabs her left arm. Mako comes out of the smoke, his body fully turned to metal

Mako: "Unlike you, we're not mindless machines and soldiers without their own free will!"

He headbutts her in the face, making her reel back. Mako stomps down on her right foot to keep her in place and throws an uppercut to knock her weapon away. His fists turns to boxing gloves with spikes, as he proceeds to make several strikes across her body, and finished it up with a right hook to the face, sending her crashing into the wall while her aura shatters and she loses consciousness

Ryze: "Three down, one to go. (L/N)! Stop playing with her!"

With (Y/N), he uses his scyther to block a few hit and run strikes form Harriet. However, Harriet looks back when she sees her allies all down and out

(Y/N): "This is the difference between me, my team and your Ace Ops, Harriet. You may trust your allies, you may respect them, you work with them, but you only see them as allies, nothing more, nothing less. But to me, those three guys are more than my teammates, more than my friends, they are my brothers! A family! Thanks to that we were able to get where we are. That's why we defeated you today. And we will do this again if needed" (Y/N) puts Mortem back on its compact form to its place on his waist and turns around

Harriet roars and rushes him. She throws a punch, only for (Y/N) to catch it in his right hand. She tries another punch with her free hand, only for (Y/N) to catch it too. He jumps over her, still holding her hands and kicks her back, freeing her arms. She crashes into the wall. (Y/N) gets near her and grabs her by the throat, only to slam her into the wall again. He later fires a fireball at close range to take the rest of her Aura. He lets go and Harriet falls onto the floor, passed out

*(Y/N) POV*

I try to catch my breath after fighting Harriet. Then I turn to my team

(Y/N): "Everyone good?" a collection of 'yeah' answers my worries "Man, I never thought they would follow James blindly. We need to secure them, so they won't cause trouble for us later"

Us four use Ace Ops' handcuffs and tie them down with it. Soon we regroup in the center of the hall

(Y/N): "Okay, we need to catch up to the others, fast. Ryze, you and me will look for Weiss and Ruby. We need to make sure Maiden is safe. Mako, Sam, search for the others and make sure we have a way out of here. If you see any Atlas guard attacking you, you have permission to kick their ass, but not to kill. Escape is our top priority. We already are wanted and killing Atlas' personnel will only make Ironwood's order to arrest us more vicious. Team CRMS, move out!" we all nod to each other and run towards our destinations

Soon enough, we find Ruby and Weiss... fighting Tick

(Y/N): "IGNITION!" I rush towards them and punch Tick in the jaw, sending her into the wall "It's between you and me, Tick. Fuck off from my Rose and my BFF!"

Tick: "Ohoho! You're finally here, goo-" however, I cut her off by a headbutt and throw her through the window

(Y/N): "I don't have time to fight with a shrimp" I overlook to where I throw Tick, only to see her holding by her fingers. I step on them "You wanted me, you got me. And you will end up like your great aunt Tock, Tick. Grimm Reaper sends both his and hers regards"

Tick: "That's not the end! I will come back and I will kill you! I will kill your precious girlfriend and everyone who is dear to you! I will not stop-" I have enough of her talking and stomp on her fingers one more time, this time she finally loses the grip and falls down, screaming 'I WILL BE BACK!' all the way down

(Y/N): "Finally! Oh my Oum!" then I get tackled into a hug by a wild Ruby

Ruby: "Cookie! You're alright!"

(Y/N): "Yeah, I'mMHHHhhhm" Ruby cuts me off by a passionate kiss to which I instantly melted. We stay like this until Ryze clears his throat

Ryze: "Not to interrupt your moment, lovebirds. But we have a Winter Maiden to rescue" Ruby blushes and looks away, while I scrape the nape of my neck

(Y/N): "Right! Weiss Cream, you are alright too?" Weiss nods "And don't worry. Sam is with Mako"

Weiss: "Thank Dust... Wait, you four beat the Ace Ops?!" I nod

Ryze: "We told you we will do it, Ice Queen" he gives her a cheeky smile "Anyway, let's go! Cinder is probably with the Maiden now!"

Us four rush towards medical wing, with Weiss in front

(Y/N): "Ryze, if you feel the pain in your chest, you need to tell us as soon as possible! It will mean Winter is gone! And I don't mean Weiss' sister!" I then feel said pain "Like I just did right now... Cinder is fighting with Winter... we need to hurry!"

*Sam POV*

Mako: "We need to get out of here! Our Aura's levels are nearly in red after we fought Ace Ops!"

Sam: "Easier said than done!" We both run towards one of the landing platforms.

Mako: "We can always jump down!"

Sam: "Bad idea!" We spot Blake and Yang fighting soldiers "Mako!"

Mako: "On it!" he puts his hand on the floor, and soon metal spikes sprout up and send the soldiers flying in all directions. Girls look to us as we run towards them

Yang: "Sam! Mako! Are you guys okay?" Mako and Blake hug, while I stand opposite of Yang

Sam: "We're fine. We took care of the Ace Ops, but we need to split up after that. You find anything for us to escape?"

Yang: "No. We've got no way of getting out of here" Just then an airship flies up from the cliffs and lands on the platform. We get ready to attack it, but get shocked when we see Dr. (L/N) after the doors open up

Sam: "Dr. (L/N)?"

Dr. (L/N): "What are you waiting for kids?! Get in!" We enter the ship, finding Maria and Pietro inside, and Klein at the controls"

Mako: "Mrs. (L/N), how did you know we need a lift?"

Dr. (L/N): "I saw all of your arrest warrants and I knew something happened. What in the holy world is going on here? Where are (Y/N), Ruby and the rest of your friends?"

Yang: "We will explain later, Mrs. (L/N). Now we need to move and get the others" Dr. (L/N) nods and turns to Klein

Dr. (L/N): "Klein, floor it!"

Klein: "You better hold on tight!" he takes off as more soldiers show up

Dr. (L/N): "Pietro, you got it to work?"

Pietro: "I think I do" he hits a button on his scroll "Hello, anyone there?"

Maria: "HAHA, finest minds in Atlas. Listen everyone, we got a ride out of here, so get out of there fast and let's beat it!"

Nora: "Alright, we're in the academy's training room"

Yang: "We're on our way. Just stick together"

Oscar: "I'm sorry, but you all need to go on without me. There's something I need to do alone" he hangs up

Sam: "Oscar? Oscar! Goddammit!"

Mako: "Just what is this kid thinking?!"

*(Y/N) POV*

We continue to race through the corridors, trying to get to the Winter Maiden in time

Ruby: "How much further?!"

Ryze: "It somewhere in here, little Ro*grunt*" he falls to his knees and I help him up "It was it, (L/N)?" I nod sadly

(Y/N): "Yeah... we're too late. Fria is gone... now to see who got the power"

Ruby: "No! We can't be too late!"

Weiss: "Come on! It should be just through... here. Oh no"

We rush through the door, only to see a massive ice wall in our way

Ruby: "(Y/N)!"

(Y/N): "On it!" I get my hands on fire and melt us a hole into the room where Winter Maiden is kept. Inside, we find Penny with fria on the ground, a wounded Winter on the floor and Cinder standing over her. What me and Ryze notice is Penny's eyes glow like Maiden's "Carrot Top..."

Weiss: "WINTER!"

Cinder looks up to see us. she gets ready to attack, but looks shocked when me and Ruby focus our gaze on her. Using our Silver Eyes we create a bright white light that fills the area. When the light clears, Ruby falls onto her knees and I catch her

(Y/N): "Good job Petals" she smiles and looks down to see Cinder has fled. Weiss quickly goes to check on Winter

Weiss: "Winter, are you okay?" she kneels by her sister's side

Winter: "...What... Did you do?!" she looks at Weiss with a look between disappointment and anger, making Weiss glance away

Me, Ryze and Ruby stare at Penny, as her new powers dissipate and she checks on Fria. However she passes away to the afterlife. Us three kneel next to sobbing Penny

(Y/N): "Carrot Top... what happened?"

Ruby: "Are you okay?"

Penny: "She's... gone" then Winter speaks to us

Winter: "No..." we turn to her "She's a part of you now"

Ryze: "Making me your Guardian, Penny"

(Y/N): "And you can throw out my theory about our Silver Eyes working on Maidens, Petals. Penny was alright after we used them" I hug Penny "We will not leave you Penny. Not now, not ever" Ryze put a hand on her shoulder

Ryze: "As long as I live, you can count on me, Winter Maiden"

*3rd POV*

Meanwhile with Sam's group, their airship lands, allowing Team JNR to get on before they take off again. Inside, Yang notices a few things missing

Yang: "Where's Oscar? And the lamp?"

The three can only look away in sadness

Mako: "Dammit!"

*(Y/N) POV*

Winter crawls to lean against the ice wall while holding her wounds

Winter: "I suggest that you all surrender... and comply with the General's orders" We glance at each other

Weiss: "We can't do that" Winter looks up with a sad expression on her face

Winter: "... Then, I suggest you run"

(Y/N): "Ice Cube, you can come with us!"

Weiss: "We're not going to leave you like this!"

Winter: "You're not leaving me! I'm giving YOU a head start" tears start to gather in her eyes and she hits the comms "This is a Special Operative Schnee in need of medical assistance. Send reinforcements. Over" Weiss looks hurt for a moment, but accepts Winter's choice. I shake my head

(Y/N): "Idiot..."

Weiss: "We all have to carve out our own way"

Just then, an airship appears outside and opens up its side door, revealing Yang and Sam inside

Sam: "Come on, we need to move, now!"

Ruby: "We need to go"

Us five board the airship, but before the doors closes I glare at Winter

(Y/N): "You made your own decision, Winter. Next time we see each other, it will be as enemies..." I look away and close the door. Our airship flies away. I stand next to my mom, while Ruby and Weiss comfort Penny "Thanks for the lift mom, thank you too Klein"

Klein: "There is nothing to thank me, Mr.(L/N). When I heard Miss Schnee is in trouble, I immediately agreed to help Mrs. Elizabeth"

Weiss: "It's so nice to hear you again, Klein"

Klein: "I was missing you too, my happy snowflake"

Then, radio of our ship comes to life

Pilot: "We've got multiple hostiles on radar. Is anyone else seeing this?"

Pilot #2: "These readings can't be right"

(Y/N): "Ryze, Mako, Sam. You feel it too?"

Sam: "Yeah... it feels, heavy..."

Me and Ruby walk to the front windshield, only to see a Whale Grimm emerging from the storm, with a lot of smaller flying Grimm next to it. Finally, on top of the Whale stands... Salem

Ruby: "(Y/N)..."

(Y/N): "She is here... and she brought an army..."

A/N: And here we end Volume 7. Volume 8 will start either on Friday or after Christmas. On Saturday I'm going to my family for Holidays, and I will probably be there until New Year. And as everybody sees, I cover the entire volume during one week. So, after Volume 8 is done, I can do some side chapters (chibi, more of a slice of life thing, future after the defeat of Salem) Or maybe start another book(LinkHyrulez suggested SAO book, but I'd have to watch it first...) Maybe you have any other suggestions? If yes, feel free to write them in the comments here and I will see what I can do.

Either way, not knowing if we see each other before Christmas, I would like to wish you a Merry Christmas/Hanukkah and a Happy New Year, hope it will be better than this one :)

Feel free to vote and comment. Stay safe and I will see you in the Volume 8 of 'Continuing the Legacy'!

Punkie out!

RWBY belongs to Rooster Teeth and is created by Monty Oum

OCs belongs to me

(Y/N) belongs to you (and to Ruby)