A/N So yeah, long time no see! I'm back to my full health, cast and pins removed and man, it's soooo good to scratch that area~ Anyway, here goes another chapter, hope you guys will enjoy it

*(Y/N) POV*

I and Sam retrieved Penny from the crater she created. Girls meanwhile went back inside. Sam notices my worried look

Sam: "Boss, you okay?" I sigh

(Y/N): "I don't know anymore Sam. I had a couple of ideas for how to win this, but now..." I look at Penny "Whatever happened at Amity... It's just..."

Sam: "Hey, don't overdo. We will find a way" He looks at leaking Penny "but I don't think Klein could help her"

(Y/N): "That's why I have to make a call..." Ruby and Weiss walk outside "Good timing. Ruby, Weiss, can you help Sam with Penny? I have to call someone who could help us here"

Ruby: "O...kay?" Weiss helps Sam and they tow Penny inside the manor. Ruby meanwhile stays with me "(Y/N)... are you okay? If something's bothering you, you can always tell-"

(Y/N): "I'm fine Petals. I will be. Just... I'm worried about Penny... about the rest of our teams. We haven't got any words from them, right?" Ruby shakes her head sadly

Ruby: "No... Yang is not picking up" I sigh

(Y/N): "Crap. Okay, go help Weiss and Sam. I will be there shortly"

Ruby: "Sure. Don't take too long (Y/N)" She enters the manor, but turns around "I love you" she closes the door behind her

(Y/N): "Love you too, Ruby" I sigh "What the hell am I gonna tell her? She still lives in her wonderland, but we are at war now... Her hope" I chuckle "Good thing she got us all covered for it" I take my scroll out and call someone who could help us with Penny "Hey... are you busy, mom?"

*timeskip*

I follow the rest inside, catching up with them near Weiss' bedroom

Blake: "She lost consciousness. And she's... leaking"

Klein: "Set her down, set her down" Weiss and Ruby look down, seeing the hydraulic fluid from Penny all over them

Sam: "Don't worry, it's not toxic. At least (Y/N) says so" Ruby turns to Klein

Ruby: "Can you help her?" Klein scans Penny with his scroll

Klein: "Even with what you told me about her, I'm not even sure what SHE is"

???: "I guess this is where I make my entrance" We turn to the doorframe, seeing mom leaning against it

Klein: "Mrs. (L/N)" he bows

Mom: "Hey Klein. I see you finally making use of your diploma"

Ruby: "Elly?! But how? How did you get here so fast?"

Mom: "Well... If (Y/N) didn't tell you" Aura wings get on her back, resembling those of eagle "My semblance"

Ruby: "Oh... Okay..."

Mom: "Don't worry Ruby... Let's get to it" She gets her scroll out and scans Penny "I helped Pietro with both of her versions. I just need to scan her and see what's missing or what's extra. Otherwise, her anatomy is similar to humans. Well... first of all, we need to stitch up that wound" We look outside, as more explosions happen. A moment later, the power goes out in the whole Schnee manor

Whitley: "Oh, great, just what we need" Ruby gets a call on her scroll

May: "Everyone okay back there? Just saw another bombing run light up the city"

Ruby: "We lost power here, along with part of the city, but we're okay"

May: "Sorry I couldn't stay to help, but time is running out for everyone at the crater"

Mom: "Don't worry May. I'm with them. Once we get Penny back we will figure how to help"

May: "Don't worry about it, Elly. At this point, I don't know how much is left to be done"

(Y/N): "May... Good luck down there. And be careful. All of you"

May: "... You too..." she ends the call. Ruby sighs

Ruby: "It's all just... too much" Some tears gather in her eyes. I wrap my arm around her shoulders for some support "The Grimm, the crater, Nora, Penny... How do we fix all of it?" Klein sneezes, as his eyes turn to blue

Klein: "One step at the time, dear"

Sam: "Yup. Klein's right. We start here with Penny and Nora. We can't be everywhere, so we won't even try"

Mom: "Take baby steps before you run. For now, how about getting the power back on for us. I and Klein could work faster that way"

Sam: "But... how?"

???: "There's a generator we keep at the edge of the estate. You can start there" We look at the doorway, seeing aunt Willow standing there

(Y/N): "Aunt Willow... you're out..." Whitley sighs and crosses his arms

Whitley: "I was wondering when you'd join us, Mother"

Mom: "And without any booze this time, Willow" she smiles "What made you quit your habit?"

Willow: "Hello, Elizabeth. As to the reason, your's sons teammate would mostly smash it on the floor like last time"

Sam: "I would" Willow enters the room and notices Klein

Willow: "Oh, hello Klein... So, you really are working for Elly now" Klein nods to her

Mom: "Well.. not like Jacques gave him much choice. I told you what type of man he is and you still refused to listen" Willow doesn't argue back. Meanwhile, Weiss gets an idea

Weiss: "SDC executives have their own auxiliary power supplies... in case of a city-wide power outage. It's... extremely unfair, but... in this case, having a few company perks is actually a blessing this time" Whitley looks out of the window, thinking

Whitley: "Perks aren't the only thing we have" We all turn to him "We have the company. The people you mentioned in the crater, they need a way out, right? We have scores of company airships that are just sitting in the hangars because of the Dust embargo. We also have our own automated drones"

Weiss: "Like the ones at Snow Shoe Shipping"

Whitley: "We can order as many ships as we need to fly down to the crater with the ships and get those people to safety. The Grimm won't notice while they're occupied with the battle against General Ironwood's forces" I smirk

(Y/N): "And here I thought that you can only scheme behind someone else's back. Not gonna lie, I'm impressed" Whitley smirks

Whitley: "I wasn't trying to impress you. But, I will gladly accept an apology or those threats earlier"

(Y/N): "Yeah... no chance, Whitley"

Whitley: "Of course, a barbari- Did you just use my name? No insults or 'kid' or-" I nod

(Y/N): "Don't get your hopes up. I still don't like you, but I will try to respect you"

Whitley: "That's... satisfactional"

Blake: "Okay, but how will we get the order out?"

Whitley: "I can do it if I can get into Father's computer. Luckily, he told me the password after he changed it" he glances at Sam

(Y/N): "Well, then it's settled. Sam, stay here with the rest. Ruby, Blake, and I will go kickstart that generator" he nods and we leave the manor

We run across the courtyard, with dark clouds in the sky, thunder booming all around. We reach the locked gate, but I melt the lock with my Semblance and we race into the generator room. Blake flips the switch and the generator comes on, showing it's starting. Ruby, of course, isn't so patient

Ruby: "Come one, please work"

Blake: "Don't worry. It'll work" Ruby sighs

Ruby: "Nothing else has" I get behind her and wrap my arms around her, getting my head on her shoulder

(Y/N): "Ruby... don't lose your hope, please. As long as we can still do something. As long as we're able to fight, then this war against Salem is NOT over. We are not losing it too. You've never been a person who would give up. After the Fall, at Argus, in Mantle, and here in Atlas. You always refused to give up. When... we met, I thought that you're just a naive girl with an impossible dream. Oh, how wrong I was. You kept that light that some of us lost, and you spread it all around. Remember, without your hope, my resolve is nothing" I smile at her "Ruby, that's why I will follow you even to death. That's why I love you and why I wish to spend the rest of my life by your side" I smile at Ruby and she tears up a bit

Ruby: "Thanks, Cookie" she tries her best to smile

Blake: "(Y/N) is not the only one. Aside from the romantic side, after our first semester at Beacon, after all that happened in the docks, I saw you as a great leader. I've always looked up to you, Ruby, ever since we met. And I am happy to say that I still do" Ruby smiles more

Ruby: "Thank you too, Blake" Just then the generator comes on and the power returns to the mansion. I then sensed my eyes giving me a sign

'Oh no...'

I turn around with wide eyes, as something appears behind the window

*Sam POV*

I and Mrs. (L/N) tend to Penny, while Klein changes Nora's IV. Willow sits nearby. Just then we hear a crashing sound outside

Klein: "What was that?"

Mrs. (L/N): "Hopefully nothing that's gonna give us more problems"

*(Y/N) POV*

(Y/N): "Girls get out of the window!" I yell, and step forward, as a Grimm crashes through the glass. It looks like a large dog, with spikes across its back "Oh great, as if we had time to deal with-" Grimm uses its paw, sending me into the right wall "Ow..."

Ruby: "(Y/N)!" she transforms her weapon into a scythe and tries to strike the Grimm. Blake meanwhile calls Weiss

Weiss: "Blake, is everything okay?"

Blake: "Weiss! There's a Grimm that-Look out!"

The Grimm swipes Ruby and throws her outside and soon follows her, focusing entirely on her. I jump out from behind and swing my scythe, sending out some flame waves at the Grimm. It jumps around to evade the attack and then swings its elongated arms around to knock a charging Blake away from it. I land in front of the Grimm, flame in my eyes, and shot some fireballs but the Grimm just brushes them off its oozing body

(Y/N): "The Big Bad Wolf has come to the story of the Little Red Riding Hood. Good thing the lumberjack was here long ago! Burn in Hell you overgrown mutt!" I throw some fireballs at it, but it swipes it like they were nothing "Dammit... fire-resistant Grimm... guess I need to get up the temperature" I smirk, starting a blue flame around my whole body. Before I could send any attack, however, Grimm grabs my head and throws me through the wall. Blake and Ruby regroup

Ruby: "What is this thing?!" I burst forth from the building

(Y/N): "New type of Grimm. Ruby, try to focus while I and Blake will distract it!" I send out a few fire shots at the Grimm, to knock it back

Blake runs across the side of the building, firing off her pistol, but the Grimm just absorbs the bullets. She jumps off the building to swing her sword at the Hound along with my scythe. However, the Grimm catches both of our blades in its claws. Meanwhile, Ruby closes her eyes and focuses on her power. I grab the Grimm's arm, trying to burn it, having some effect. It throws us away, and charges at Ruby. She can't react in time and gets tackled to the ground

Blake: "Ruby!"

Grimm: "Take... the girl..." it speaks, shocking us

(Y/N): "What the hell...? Since when did Grimm speak?!"

The Grimm sprouts wings from its back and tries to fly away. However, Blake throws her chain-scythe and keeps it from escaping, giving me a chance to jump up and tackle it back to the ground, causing it to drop Ruby to the ground. It tries to get up, only for me to slice its wings with Mortem, causing it to roar in pain

(Y/N): "Blake, check on Ruby!" I yell before jumping back as Grimm swings its arm at me. Weiss meanwhile joins the battle

Weiss: "Sam, aunt Elly, there's a Grimm here. There might be more. Keep everyone together and safe"

*Sam POV, back inside the manor*

Sam: "Roger that"

At the table, Klein notices Willow's trembling hands, trying to grasp a wine bottle that is not there. When another crashing sound is heard, she gets spooked.

Klein: "Madam Willow, please, try to calm down"

Mr.(L/N): "Willow, don't worry. Kids got this. Breath"

Willow: "I'm sorry, I... I can't. I can't do this!" and then she runs out of the room

Sam: "Wait! Ah, damn it! Klein, go and get her back here. I'll watch over the others" Klein nods and leaves the room. Penny meanwhile opens her eyes, having red eyes instead of her normal green... "Penny? Hey, take it easy. You're still-" Penny punches me into a wall

Mrs. (L/N): "Samuel! Penny, sweetheart, you need to calm down" She gets between me and Penny. Before Penny could hit her, Penny's eyes changed to normal

Penny: "No... Not again"

Mrs. (L/N): "Penny, honey, say what's wrong?"

Penny: "It's... in me... Mom, help!" she cries out as her power flares up

*3rd POV*

Weiss gets ready to summon, only for several Centinels to pop out from the ground and stop her. (Y/N) jumps back, nearly getting bitten by one of them, beheading it. Another one tries to bite him, but using his Silver Eyes he turns it into a stone statue, The Hound gets blinded by the light. It allows Weiss to conjure some glyphs to fire off ice shards at it. It evades her attack and climbs onto the side of the building. All of their attention turns when they notice a green light coming from the manor. From Weiss' room. (Y/N) widens his eyes

(Y/N) "It's here for Penny!" more Centinels pop-out

The Hound jumps over the cage and runs to the manor while the others fight off the Centinels.

Blake: "(Y/N)! Weiss! Go! We'll handle things here!" she slices through a Centinel. (Y/N) meanwhile uses his light to turn three Grimm into a statue

(Y/N): "Are you sure?!"

Ruby: "Cookie, go! They need a person with Silver Eyes to kill that thing and you can control yours better than I can control mine! Go!" (Y/N) nods and chases after the Hound along with Weiss.

Ruby twirls her scythe around to kill another Centinel, but just then, another hole pops up in the ground and out crawls a Cenitaur Grimm, a large insect-like Grimm with a large green sack full of acidic venom, and a pair of long scythe blades on its arms.

Ruby: "That's new..."

Back in Weiss' room, Penny continues to lose and regain control over herself as she tries to fight off whatever is affecting her. Sam gets back up

Sam: "Penny, you need to calm down. You're among us, your friends!" Elly gets next to him

Elly: "Penny, please, tell us what's wrong!" she begs. Penny's eyes continue to change frantically

Penny: "I... I don't wanna go-" A hand reaches out to grab Penny's

Nora: "Hey.." Penny is taken by surprise, her eyes flames vanishing. The storm rages on. "No one's going to make you do anything you don't want to do. It's your life, Penny... and no one else's"

Penny: "But there is a part of me... It's making me..."

Nora: "Remember, it's only a part of you. Don't forget about the rest" Penny regains control and her power calms down. She kneels before Nora, who gives her hand a gentle squeeze. Sam sighs before he gets a call from Weiss

Weiss: "Sam, the Grimm is heading inside the manor. Stay quiet and keep the others safe"

Sam: "Yeah... we might have a problem about that. Your mother ran off and I told Klein to go after her. Whitley should still be in your father's office, but none of them have come back yet"

(Y/N): "Goddammit, aunt Willow... Okay, where the hell they'd go?"

Both Weiss and (Y/N) race to the front doors of the manor, having seen the Hound break through the windows above it to get inside. They bust through the doors, only to find the main floor empty. They look around and cautiously move in until...

Willow: "Above you!" they look up, just in time to see the Hound falling on them

The Hound swings its arms around at them, knocking them both back. (Y/N) stabs his scythe into the floor to stop his motion, but Weiss gets knocked into a nearby piano. The Hound growls at them, but (Y/N) fires some fireballs. The Hound jumps back and dodges them. Weiss creates a black glyph as it jumps onto the side of a wall, keeping it in place. This allows (Y/N) to swing his scythe and send another flame wave that stuns the Grimm. The Hound falls back to the floor and (Y/N) jumps into the air to stab his scythe into it. However, the Grimm grabs his face and throws him at Weiss, who conjures another glyph to stop him from crashing into her. The Hound roars before climbing up the walls and making its way down a hallway.

(Y/N): "That thing's smart. Nothing like anything we've faced before. Just what the hell is it?" he gets up

Willow: "Are you two alright?"

Weiss: "Mom?"

(Y/N): "Yeah, we're alright, aunt Willow. If you can tell us its position"

Willow: "I can see it. It's outside Winter's old room. You and your friends can kill it, right?"

Weiss: "What's it doing?"

Willow: "I... I don't know. It's acting strange!"

Klein: "Actually, it looks like... it's hunting. Searching for something" (Y/N) eyes widen

(Y/N): "Penny..." he calls Sam "Sam, do you copy?"

Sam: "I do. What's going on (Y/N)?"

(Y/N): "That Grimm. It's searching for Penny. It smells her blood... which is all over your clothes. He might be tracking her scent" Sam looks down at his clothes and later at still injured Penny and Nora and later at Elly "I know it's not ideal, but you've got to get that thing as far from Weiss' room as possible and bring it to us so we can kill it. Mom, if anything, you're our last defense in this room. You have your kamas?"

Elly: "I do"

(Y/N): "Good. Stay in that room and by any means do not allow anything in. Sam, let's go. I and Weiss are on our way"

Sam: "Understood" he ends the call "I'll be back. Dr.(L/N), if anything, kill that thing before it reaches Penny" (Y/N)'s mom nods and he heads out, closing the doors behind him

Back with Weiss and (Y/N), they search through the whole manor in search of the Hound

Weiss: "Mother, can you track it for us?"

Willow: "Yes, I can... I..." she starts to freak out. Inside the surveillance room, Klein takes her hand to calm her down

Klein: "Madam Willow, your children need you now. Please... help them. I know you can do it" Willow takes a breath and calms down

Willow: "You're right. Okay, it's heading towards... Oh dear, no..."

Meanwhile, with Sam, he runs through the building, trying to put distance between himself and the girls and find the Hound. He comes around a corner and keeps running. However, he soon halts when the Hound comes around another corner, sniffing the floor.

Sam: "Oh shit..." he mutters as he readies his sword

The Hound looks up and roars before charging at Sam. Sam swirls his sword around, stabbing it into its body, and then jumps over Grimm, retrieving his weapon, tying some vines around Grimm's legs. Sam lands behind it and tries to pull it off its feet, but the Grimm grabs the plant and pulls Sam instead, bringing him close enough to smack him into a wall with its arms

Sam: "Dammit... stubborn dog..." He creates two vine golems, running at the Grimm, pinning its arms. A third arm sprouts from its back and grabs one golem's head, crushing it. With its arms free, he squeezes the second one. Just then Whitley comes out of a room behind them

Whitley: "Hey, I got it. The airships are-" he stops upon seeing the Hound, who turns to him

Sam: "Run!" green mist gets around his eyes, as he sends vines from his fingers to pin the Grimm again. He then grabs Whitley and they make a run for it. As they're running, they run into Willow and Klein. "What are you doing?! Go get-" the Hound comes around the corner again and closes in on them. Sam gets ready to slow it down again, only for blue flames to come crashing through the window, nearly breaking through the wall. Sam looks to see Weiss and (Y/N) join them. Weiss conjures up an ice wall to separate them from the Hound

Weiss: "I didn't forget you" she smiles at her family

(Y/N): "Seems like we're just in time. Whitley, everything-" he gets cut off as the Hound tries to break through the ice "Go!"

Willow, Whitley, and Klein make a break for it while the other three stay behind and prepare to fight the Hound again

Meanwhile, back outside, Blake and Ruby fight the Cenitaur on their own. The Grimm swings its blades at them repeatedly, while Blake blocks the strikes with her swords. Ruby uses her semblance to come around and attack from the side, but the Cenitaur spits out a green liquid at her, forcing Ruby to fly back to evade it. The goo hits the ground and starts melting it like acid.

Blake: "Why'd it get more disgusting?!"

The Cenitaur attacks with its blades again, forcing Blake to jump back. It turns its attention to Ruby as she fires a few shots from behind, and spits at her again. Ruby jumps out of the way, while Blake attacks its flank. However, the Cenintaur swings its blades around, knocking her into the wall. Ruby flies around with her semblance at the Grimm. The Cenitaur spits at her again, but she separates into three bursts of petals around the acid before reforming behind it and swings her scythe at its neck, slicing the head off. With the fight over, Ruby checks on Blake. She kneels before her

Ruby: "Blake, are you okay?" Blake slowly gets up

Blake: "I'm fine. Let's go help the others" and the pair race to the manor.

Inside, the Hound begins to break through the ice, but when the others get ready to fight, they hear a scream.

(Y/N): "Penny!" The Hound stops and then runs in the opposite direction "It's going after Penny!" he gets his hand to the ice, melting it with his Semblance and they take off after the Grimm

Inside Weiss' room, Penny freaks out again,

Penny: "I'm... I'm sorry!" she holds her head before her eyes go red again

Elly: "Penny, please, let us help you!" She grabs Penny's hand, but she throws Elly away and walks out of the room. She races after her, trying to stop her. In the main hall, Willow, Klein, and Whitley arrive, out of breath. They take a moment to catch their breath and watch as Penny walks right by them

Whitley: "Wait, what are you doing?!"

Penny: "I must open the vault... And then self-terminate" she states without any emotion. Elly then skids around the corner, and races towards Penny

Just then, the Hound attacks her from behind, but she holds off its attack. However, the Hound grows a third arm behind its back again and grabs Penny's head.

The Hound: "Take! The! Girl!" it roars as it smashes Penny on the floor and then picks her up by her head. The rest of the group shows up

Ruby: "Penny!" The Hound holds Penny up with a claw at her throat, using her as a hostage

Sam: "It's using Penny as a hostage? But... how? Why?"

Ruby: "...That's enough" they look at Ruby, whose eyes shine with her power, and blast the Hound out the glass wall behind it while dropping Penny. Penny falls down the stairs, still out cold, and the others rush to her aide. They check on Penny, but soon enough, the Hound starts to climb back up the glass wall

The Hound: "Take... the girl" instead of its regular head, it degraded to reveal the head of a Faunus man beneath the Grimm. Though the face is grossly distorted, scared, and hideous, there's no making what he really is. A Faunus with Silver Eyes. "Take... the girl" the Hound starts walking down the stairs, its body undulating as its bone cracks. "Take the girl!" The mere sight of him is enough to freak out the non-combatants, scare the girls, and disturb (Y/N) and Sam. He walks down the stairs and Blake and Weiss move Penny while (Y/N), Sam, and Ruby protect them

(Y/N): "Back off!" his eyes shine, as white light fills the room. Once it dies out, The Hound gets thrown back and its human head gets visible again, but it fastly regenerates.

The Hound: "Take the girl! Take the girl! Take the girl!" he repeats. (Y/N) tries blasting it with his eyes again, for the same result, until he finally overdoes it

(Y/N): "Dammit... No more juice left here..." he pants, using his scythe to help him stand.

The Hound's normal head reforms around the Faunus' head. Up top, the others notice that the Hound is stopping in front of one of the Armas Gigas statues and begin to push it. "Take... The... GIRL!" the Hound gets ready to pounce, only for the giant statue to fall right on top of it and crush it. When the dust finally settles, the Hound has stopped moving beneath the armor. Ruby drops to her knees, staring in shock at the Hound's lone exposed arm as it begins to disintegrate

Sam: "By the Oum..."

Weiss: "What... was that?"

Ruby: "That was... a person" (Y/N) looks at the Grimm Reaper mask on his left arm. And later puts his scythe down

(Y/N): "Ruby... it was not just some ordinary person... I know you saw it too... He had Silver Eyes, like us..."

Sam: "But that means..."

(Y/N): "The very reason Salem wants me and Ruby alive is to turn us into those monsters..." he looks back at the mask "In the past, she just killed people with this gift, but now..." he looks at Ruby, as she starts trembling and quietly sobbing. She gets up and runs away with tears

Whitley: "What's with her?" (Y/N) sighs

(Y/N): "Summer Rose, her mother, had Silver Eyes. She went missing with my dad thirteen years ago... I think Ruby finally found out what Salem could do to her..."

Elly: "(Y/N), please, don't tell me you're thinking..."

(Y/N): "That Summer could easily be one of those monsters? I hope not. Mom, you need to hide your eyes again. Salem doesn't know about you" Elly nods, getting the tear away, hoping her closest friend from Beacon didn't have the same fate as this Faunus

Sam: "But, that could mean that your dad..."

(Y/N): "My father is dead. I have full access to Fall's Guardian's powers. If he had been alive, I couldn't even use Ignition in stage 2" he sighs again "I will try to talk with her. Go get Penny upstairs" Everyone walks upstairs, while (Y/N) searches for Ruby

*(Y/N) POV*

After searching for five minutes on the bottom floor, I still couldn't find her

(Y/N): "Damn it, Petals. Come on" Just then I hear a quiet sobbing coming from the room to my left. I open the door and see Ruby crying, sitting on the edge of the bed "Ruby..." I close the door behind me and sit next to her "Listen Petals... I know it's hard but...

Ruby: "Hard...? Hard?! My mother could be the same kind of monster we fought today! It's just so... so... fucking messed up!" she cries

(Y/N): "Ruby, don't swear..."

Ruby: "I don't give a damn anymore! That's the reason they never found her body... That's the reason she wants us alive... To experiment on us..." I hug her, as she cries on my shoulder

(Y/N): "I know Ruby. But I will not allow her to. I promise"

Ruby: "*sniff* (Y/N)... I'm so scared... Everything is going horrible and I... I..."

(Y/N): "...I'm scared too... When I told those words to Salem... I was terrified.."

Ruby: "I thought that-"

(Y/N): "Shh..." I silence her

'I need to calm her down. Guess there goes my ace in the sleeve. Thanks, Yang'

(Y/N): "If the stars all fall, when there's no more light. And the moon should crumble, it will be alright" I start singing, making Ruby look at me "Don't you worry about the dark, I will light up the night with the love in my heart. I will burn like the sun, I will keep you safe and warm. Like the smell of a rose on a summer's day, I will be there to take all your fears away. With a touch of my hand, I will turn your life to gold. With a touch of my hand, I'll turn your life to gold" I stop and smile at her

Ruby: "How did you know that song...?"

(Y/N): "One little blondie told me she sang it to you when you were little and had nightmares. Ruby, everything will be alright. Yang will give us a sign soon, and Summer..." Ruby flinched at hearing her mother's name "For sure is not a Grimm. She looks at you from heaven and is proud of her little rose" Ruby wipes her tears and looks me in the eyes "Come on, we have to check with the others" I try to stand up, but Ruby holds my hand "Petals?"

Ruby: "Can't we just... stay here for a little longer?" I sigh, but go with her request "I didn't know you sing, (Y/N)"

(Y/N): "Man of many talents" I smile at her "I'm also a cook. Guess who cooked for my team every day at Beacon" she giggles lightly, letting me know she calmed down "So, any moment, Petals?"

Ruby: "Can you continue with the song...? It's calming to hear your singing voice, Cookie" I nod and continue singing, while Ruby closes her eyes and leans her head on my shoulder

*3rd POV*

Meanwhile, outside the city of Atlas, the war continues. Atlas military continues their defense against the onslaught of Grimm being created from the Monstra. Their defense remains strong, but their forces are being whittled down one by one, and the bodies are starting to pile up. Meanwhile, Salem's forces continue to slowly gain ground. Inside one section of the huge Grimm, Ryze and his friends finally managed to make it inside despite the dangers they had to fight through just to get in. The group stop to catch their breath before moving on with their objective

Ryze: "Everyone good?"

Mako: "I'm good, for the most part" he gives him a thumbs up

Yang: "That was a challenge"

Ryze: "Well, we're still not done here. We need to find Oscar. He needs to be here, somewhere. And we have limited time to do so. Otherwise, Irondick's puppies will blow us up with this thing"

Yang: "Okay, but how will we even find Oscar? This thing is enormous. It'll be like finding a needle in a... giant whale. Why did we think this was such a good idea?"

Ren: "I think... I might be able to help" he turns to them "I can sense spikes in people's emotions. I think. It happened on Winter's ship. I could see a physical manifestation of their emotions in a way. That's how I knew about them. If I focus my aura, I can keep it up" Thi surprise the rest of his group

Mako: "You mean... your semblance evolved. That's... actually pretty cool. And just in time"

Ryze: "So you say you can lead us to Oscar, Ren?" Ren holds his head as he focuses

Ren: " I can sort of tell where they are, but not who. It feels like they're in the same area in this thing, though. They're further in. I can lead the way" He gets ready to walk ahead, but Jaune stops him with a hand on his shoulder

Jaune: "Hey, you don't have to strain yourself here. You're not alone. I can help. We'll do this together"

Ren: "...Right, good thinking. Thank you" Jaune points finger guns at him

Jaune: "Well, then lead the way, Ren"

The group moves on ahead, with Ren and Jaune holding the front, while Mako remains in the middle, and Ryze and Yang watch their rear. They walk through the fleshy corridors of the Monstra, with Jaune's aura amplifying Ren's so he can use his evolved semblance to help find Oscar. Yang turns to Ryze

Yang: "How are you holding up?"

Ryze: "Better than in that hut in the middle of nowhere" he looks at Ren and Jaune "Good thing Ren understood his mistakes and now tries to do amends"

Yang: "Yeah... amends..." she gets her gaze down, thinking about the rest of Team RWBY

Ryze: "Hey, Ruby is not the one who won't forgive. Stop thinking you're any less of her sister than before this whole shit with Mantle and Atlas happened. Yang, we are in this together. First, we need to find Oscar. Then we will try contacting Ruby and (Y/N). They must be worried about us too"

Yang: "I'm sure they are..."

They continue their search within the beast to find Oscar, maintaining the same formation they had earlier. As they travel, Jaune is using his aura to amplify Ren's as he uses his semblance constantly

Mako: "You ever think that these walls will just sprout arms and reach out to grab us?"

Yang: "Please don't go saying creepy stuff like that. I'm already nervous enough as it is" Then, Jaune and Ren hunch over as they get a little tired

Mako: "Hey, guys, you okay?"

Jaune: "Yeah, I'm just getting a little tired. No issues here" Mako's gaze turn to him, reading his aura level

Mako: "You used some part of your Aura, Jaune"

Ren: "I'm sorry. I'm masking and tracking at the same time, so I'm using my aura up faster than normal" Jaune waves it off

Jaune: "No, it's okay. It's not your fault

Yang: "Do you guys need a minute?"

Jaune: "We don't know how much longer we can keep this up"

Mako: "So, maybe try doing this. Ren, turn off the masking for a moment. Just give us some directions. Jaune and Ryze will scout ahead while we hang back a moment"

Ren: "Thanks. That sounds like a plan. Just keep going straight. We should be heading that way for a while longer"

Ryze: "Alright, we'll be back" he nods and he and Jaune race ahead to do some scouting

Yang: "Well, at least you guys being friends again takes the sting out of impending doom" she jokes

Mako: "A good thought in the middle of a monster" he chuckles

Ren: "You know... You guys don't have to hide your fear with jokes. It's okay to be afraid and admit it. After all, I'm scared too" he looks back at them

Yang: "...I thought I was the only one that was scared" Ren smiles

Ren: "We're all scared, but that in itself isn't a bad thing. But, those two, Jaune and Ryze. I don't sense any fear in either of them. Ryze is a little concerned, but he's not scared. They honestly believe that we can do this. And I guess, that helps me believe so as well" he looks to where the duo went. Yang sighs but smiles

Yang: "Okay, then I do too"

Mako: "Sure, count me in... too" he stops, spotting Jaune running back, with Ryze flying next to him. A look of worry in their eyes

Jaune: "Quick, hide! Ren, mask us, now!" Jaune leads them onto another hallway off the path, and Ren masks them as Jaune holds out his shield and Ryze aims his rifle

Jaune glances around the corner to see a Seer Grimm floating down the pathway in their direction. The Grimm floats on by and hasn't noticed them, but the group does notice Ren having a hard time keeping them masked with his semblance. He's reaching his limit. Seeing his strain, they get ready to fight. Just as the Seer floats by, Ren's aura gets too low and his semblance deactivates and alerts the Seer to their presence

Ryze: "Oh for fuck sake..." he fires off his rifle to kill the Seer

However, the Seer manages to release a scream throughout the Monstra, and other Grimm appear just as the Seer dies. Mako jumps and hardens his fists, creating metal claws, ripping through one Grimm's head, while Ryze and Ren fire off their weapons, killing a few more. Yang jumps up and smashes her fist down on another, and Jaune finishes it up by slicing one Grimm in half. Though there are no more Grimm around them, they know that their cover's been blown now

Ryze: "So much for being stealthy. Time for plan B"

Jaune: "Plan B?"

Mako: "Kick the shit out of anything that gets in our way and pray we don't die!" Yang shrugs

Yang: "Something's new?"

Jaune: "I'd prefer the 'don't die' part. Ren" Ren nods

Ren: "We keep moving forward... No matter what"

With that organized, the group charges ahead, as they race through the Monstra. They move around, corner after corner, careful to avoid any guards. That eventually leads them right into none other than Emerald and Hazel, standing before them

Mako: "Oh great. A thief and a living tank. Just my favorite people" He hardens his fists again, getting ready to attack. Emerald has her pistols forth, but Hazel steps forth

Hazel: "No, wait, stop!" he holds his hands up, and a moment later changes from Hazel to Oscar. The group gasps

Jaune: "Oscar!" he wraps his arms around Oscar in a tight embrace

Mako: "Man, you look like crap" he ruffles Oscar's hair

Ryze: "What did she do to you?"

Oscar: "More than you could imagine"

Emerald: "I thought I sensed some weak minds nearby"

Jaune: "Wait, what's going on here?"

Oscar: "It's... a long story"

Ryze: "Yeah, well. Your story can wait, Oscar. But we have one problem right here" He aims his rifle at Emerald, while Mako gets ready to jump on her "Give us one reason why we shouldn't kill her right here and now. And it better be good"

Ren: "... Because she's scared" he stops them, stunning Emerald "Just like the rest of us. You know... You know what Salem's planned, don't you?" Emerald tries to play tough

Emerald: "Or maybe because I know the way out of here... You coming or what?" She walks past them, and they watch her go

Deciding they have not much time to debate, the group follows Emerald as she leads the way through the Monstra for them. They race through the corridors of its body and after a few twists and turns, they finally see the outside, having come to the left side of the beast's body, with a clear path to the city on the outskirts of the battle

Oscar: "We're almost out!" Mako sighs

Mako: "Thank Oum, this place was seriously messed up. I was worried we won't find you, Oscar"

Ryze: "Look, guys, less talking, more running. Ironwood's lapdogs are most likely on their way to drop off the bomb. And I want to be as far as I could when it detonates" They start walking towards the exit, until the Monstra suddenly shakes, stopping them

Mako: "Um... what was that?" Emerald eyes widen in fear

Emerald: "...It's her"

The Monstra screams as if in pain, and then suddenly a part of the fleshy wall behind them explodes, scattering the group. From the dust emerges Salem who glares between Oscar and Emerald. Emerald tries to run, but Salem extends her arms and grabs her, pulling her in. Salem leans close to her ear

Salem: "You really have been honing that semblance of yours"

Ren and Ryze fire off their rifles at her, but Salem evades the bullets before firing off a blast of magical energy at them. Ryze jumps out of the wat while Jaune protects Ren with his shield, only for them to be blasted into a wall. Mako touches the ground with his hand, sending spikes at Salem, but Salem flies over them while still holding Emerald and fires off another blast of energy at him. Mako's body turns into metal, blocking the attack, but Salem grabs his head and throws him into the wall. Yang jumps in and makes several punches on Salem's body and then jumps back before pulling the trigger, causing the timed rounds to explode, leaving Salem's body broken and contorted. However, her immortality merely turns the attack into a slight annoyance. Salem reaches out and grabs Yang's arms with some black ooze from her hand. She starts to pull Yang in, but Ryze comes flying at her, slicing the black ooze rope off, freeing her. Ryze then uses his Semblance, pinning Salem to the ground with a massive wind wave. He then takes flying again with his swords out, and slams their sharp side on Salem's face, cutting her head. But, just like with Yang, this does little to stop the ancient witch as she grabs Ryze's arms, flings him around, and then blasts him close up with a magic blast that sends him crashing into the ceiling before he hits the floor near the others. Yang jumps in from behind but Salem catches her thrown punch in her hand

Oscar: "Leave them alone!" Salem looks back to get hit in the chest by a magical blast from Oscar

Salem looks pissed as she throws Yang into Oscar and then conjures up red magic circles beneath everyone. Grimm arms pop out and pin everyone either onto the floor or to the wall, preventing them from retaliating. Salem then pins Emerald to the wall with the same ability. She conjures a black sphere of energy in her hand

Salem: "Now then, what did you do with the lamp?"

Emerald: "N-Nothing" Salem isn't buying it

Salem: "It's missing" She gets her hand with the black orb close to Emerald's face

Emerald: "I didn't do anything with it!"

Salem: "Where... is it?" she glares at the others. She uses her power to lean Oscar up while still keeping him pinned and sighs as she walks towards him "Look how you've diminished. How you've lessened yourself. And for what? These children? This ruined world?" she stands before him and then grips his head with her hands, squeezing him. "Why....do...you...keep...coming...back?!"

Yang: "Why do you?!" she yells, getting Salem's attention "All of this endless death... because something bad happened to you a long time ago? You don't get it. This isn't a fairytale, and no one gets the fairytale ending that they want" Salem approaches her "Everything I've lost. Every person I've lost... is all because of you" she stares into Salem's eyes

Salem: "And who have I taken from you exactly, girl?"

Yang: "Summer Rose. My mom" Salem gets a little surprised to hear that name

Salem: "Hmph. Her again" She smiles as she leans closer to Yang

Ryze: "You stay the Hell away from her, you hear me!" he growls, trying to break free, only for Salem to summon more arms around him, keeping him on the ground

Mako: "What about Albert (L/N)? You're the reason for his death"

Salem: "Oh, previous Fall's Guardian" she chuckles "He for sure was a resilient one, just like his offspring. Too bad you won't last as long as his father against me"

Hazel: "Your grace" Salem looks to see Hazel join the party, standing near Emerald

Salem: "Ah, Hazel. I've found our guests..." She walks up to Emerald while pinning Yang and Mako "This one was helping them" She frees Oscar "Take the boy back to his cell. I have work to do with this one" She glides her hand along a crying Emerald's face

Hazel: "Yes, of course"

Hazel walks past her, seeing the terror in Emerald's eyes. He looks at the others before he stands next to Oscar. Hazel picks him up by his collar and then pulls him in close. "No more Gretchens, boy," he whispers before dropping Oscar to the ground and handing him his cane and then starts walking towards Salem

Emerald: "Please, I really don't know what happened to the lamp!"

Salem is about to punish her, but then Hazel blindsides her with a punch to the head, sending her flying back. Salem uses her magic to create a tornado beneath her feet and floats in the air. This also causes the circles pinning the group to disappear and free them. Hazel takes off his shirt.

Hazel: "Go now!" he yells before stabbing six Dust crystals into his body, giving himself a huge boost in power as electricity sparks around him.

Emerald: "Hazel" Man in question looks back to see a despondent Emerald shakes her head at him. Hazel gives her a reassuring smile

Hazel: "Go. It's okay" he turns to face Salem

Salem: "So, you've decided against vengeance for your sister after all this time" she gets ready to fight. Hazel cocks his fists, flames emitting from them

Hazel: "I'm doing what Gretchen would've done"

Salem charges her magic and fires blasts of energy at Hazel. Hazel runs and jumps around the blasts as he gets closer to her. He fires off three fire blasts at her. Salem moves to dodge them, only to find herself pinned in mid-air and gets hit by the blasts. Hazel looks over to see Ryze using his semblance, white mist coming from his eyes

Ryze: "Hit her now!"

Salem emerges from the flames, her body repairing itself again. She fires off a blast at Ryze, but Mako blocks the attack, creating a steel shield by punching the ground.

Salem looks back just in time to see Hazel above her, fusing two Dust crystals to create a large, spiked boulder of rock and fire. He smashes the boulder down on her, sending her to the ground. Hazel crashes on top of her and starts pounding away, but Salem creates another glyph to have Grimm's arms grab him and hang him in the air while she recovers again. Meanwhile, Emerald watches on before she looks to see the others running to safety

Jaune: "Come one, everyone out!" he points the way, noticing not everyone is with them "Oscar!" Oscar looks back at him

Oscar: "She'll just come after us" he readies his cane

Back with Hazel and Salem, she is back together and fires off another blast at Hazel, but he uses a hard-light Dust crystal to block the shot. Salem then throws Hazel into the wall. He tries to get up, but she grabs his head and repeatedly smashes it into the floor. Off to the side, Oscar starts focusing the energy on his cane. Salem notices this and charges at him, but Hazel quickly gets back up and grabs her from behind in a bear hug. Salem conjures up another glyph to wrap Grimm's arms around Hazel's legs and even his neck. But, Hazel breaks a fire Dust crystal in his mouth with his teeth, and both of them are engulfed in the flames. Salem screams from the fire, but Hazel just looks at Oscar

Hazel: "... Do it"

Reluctantly, Oscar nods and hits the trigger on his cane. A magic sphere forms around him before he unleashes a huge blast of power all at once that engulfs the area in a blinding light...

A/N: Wow... it's sure is kind of tiring but here we are. Long-awaited chapter of Continuing the Legacy. Ruby's squad got to face the Hound while Yang's squad faced Salem. We're slowly coming to the end of Volume 8( 2 more chapters to go. I'm ready to cry, boys)... yeah, it sucks, but this book will be on hiatus until Volume 9 comes up. I hope you guys enjoyed it. As always feel free to comment and vote and I will see you in the next chapter!

Punkie out!

RWBY belongs to Rooster Teeth and was created by Monty Oum

OCs belongs to me

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