A/N: Hey Guys. This is it, the finale of Volume 8. So, as I promised, this will be a long boy to read, so be prepared!

READER DISCRETION IS ADVISED! THIS CHAPTER CONTAINS AN ASSISTED SUICIDE, MURDER, AND LOTS OF FEELS! CONTINUE ON YOUR OWN RISK!

Without further ado, let's get started!

*3RD POV*

As Atlas military forces continue to fight against the remaining Grimm that have been left after the destruction of the Monsta, a single lonely ship flies through the sky battlefield towards Atlas Academy. Inside the airship, Jaune, Ren, Nora, Sam, and Mako are waiting for the accurate moment, nervousness is written on their faces.

Sam: "Okay everybody, here goes nothing..." he sighs "Or everything" Mako nods and the others focuses on

At the front of the academy, Winter and Ironwood await. The latter received a message from Ruby saying that Penny will come alone, agreeing to their terms. However, General holds his pistols combined with a large cannon, and Winter waits with her sword as a precaution

Winter: "Sir, this course of action-"

Ironwood: "I hope you're not going to try to talk me out of it" he cuts her off. Winter looks him in the eye

Winter: "No sir... I believe that's impossible at this point" Just then, Penny flies in, alone and lands in front of them. Ironwood aims his cannon at her

Ironwood: "I didn't think you'd actually come alone" he hands a pair of handcuffs to Winter "I excepted at least some resistance from your friends" Winter walks forth towards Penny

Penny: "I just don't want anyone else to get hurt... I must open the vault" Winter puts her in the handcuffs and steps back later with her sword out. Ironwood eventually sighs, lowers his weapon, and walks up to Penny, putting a hand on her shoulder

Ironwood: "You've... done the right thing" Penny smirks

Penny: "I have..." Penny disappears, and Emerald takes he place, with Team JNR, Sam, Mako, and Oscar staining behind her in front of an airship thanks to her Semblance

Emerald: "Feels weird"

Ironwood is shocked, only for Emerald to deal him a backflip kick to the chin, causing him to release his weapon. Emerald lands and catches his cannon before using her semblance on him to disappear. The others charge in to attack, with Jaune making the first move as he swings his sword at Ironwood. Ironwood dodges the first two swings and catches the third before throwing a punch, only to get blocked by Jaune's shield that knocks him back. Oscar comes in and makes a few swings with his cane, only for Ironwood to counter with an uppercut to the chest and then a punch to the face. However, the second Oscar goes back is the second that Mako moves up. Ironwood throws another punch, but Mako catches it. Ironwood throws another punch with his free hand, only for Mako to catch it too

Mako: "I've waited for this ever since Vytal Festival, James" he smirks and throws a metal head-butt to Ironwood's face, followed by a left straight and then a dropkick to the chest

Meanwhile, inside the academy's hangar, Qrow and Robyn fight Atlesian Knights. One was about to strike Robyn from behind, but a single kama comes flying and cuts the head of the machine. She looks back only to spot Elizabeth, smirking

Elly: "Geez, I knew you two won't stay put forever. Need help?" Qrow slashes another one and Elly gets to his back, with both her weapons in hand

Qrow: "As much as I'm happy to see you back to being a Huntress, Elly. We can talk later" Just then, Vine, Harriet, and Elm enter the hangar, they are greeted by the sight of the trio making short work of the robots

Back in front, Mako continues to spar with Ironwood. He throws a punch, but James catches it and throws Mako behind him. Just then, Sam wraps vines around Ironwood's waist and swings him around, then throws him at Ren. Ren fires off his pistols, but Ironwood collects himself to block them with his arms and then throws a downward punch at Ren. Ren steps back and tries to attack with his pistol blades, but Ironwood catches his wrists and kicks him away. He looks back to see Nora in mid-air, behind a glyph made by Winter that gives her an electric boost. Ironwood is too stunned by this apparent betrayal that he leaves himself wide open for Nora to slam her hammer in his face, sending him rolling back along the ground. Mako jumps in the air, his eyes emitting a yellow mist, and smashes his weapon transformed into mace into the ground, sending out a wave of steel spikes in the direction of Ironwood. He jumps out of the way, only to start running as Sam fires his pistols at him.

Back in the hangar, Vine, Harriet, and Elm get ready to charge into battle, only for Marrow to appear out of nowhere

Marrow: "Stay!" he uses his Semblance, stopping them in their tracks as he moves towards them, pointing his finger at her

Back in front, Ironwood races around Sam's shoots to get closer, only for Winter and Oscar to charge at him atop of a Manticore summon. Ironwood is able to stop the Manticore by grabbing its horns, but its riders leap off. Winter hits the general in the back with icy projectiles as he slams her summon on the ground, destroying it. Upon landing, Winter summons a black glyph, which catches Oscar and propels him back at Ironwood. The boy unleashes a flurry of jabs at Ironwood's front, causing his Aura to shimmer. Ironwood stumbles back, and Osca presses on. However, the general catches his cane and prepares to attack with his free hand, only for Sam to send a single vine, catching it

Sam: "Now!"

Out of nowhere and too fast for Ironwood to react, Winter slashes him across the chest with her sword, causing his Aura to break down. He falls to the ground, unconscious

Back in the hangar, he detached, sparking head of an Atlesian Knight-200 hits the floor, one of Robyn's crossbow bolts embedded in it

Qrow: "Sorry guys, be we don't wanna fight"

Robyn: "We didn't wanna drop Atlas either, be we've all had to make some tough calls, huh?"

Elly: "The second I saw Qrow's scroll got back online, I knew these two broke out. Ruby and Yang miss you Qrow. Joanna, May, and Fiona miss you too, Robyn" the duo smiles "But I swear, if you get caught one more time, I will not come and rescue you drunk ass"

Qrow: "Yeah, yeah. So... you back in business, Elly?" Elly nods while walking to the Ace Ops and grabs one pair of handcuffs, only to get Elm into them

Elly: "No hard feelings Elm. But you made one mistake. You messed up with my family. Albert taught you all otherwise" she looks at Marrow "At least one of you understood his lessons"

Back outside (a lot of these scenery skips:v), Winter sheathes her weapon and straightens up. Emerald shimmers back into view again, hands Winter the weapon Ironwood dropped and has the bolas taken off her wrists.

Winter: "Go! Move to phase two. I'll take care of Ironwood" the group move into the academy

Mako: "While this plan is the craziest thing Ruby and (Y/N) thought in a while, jabbing an Atlesian authority makes it worth" he smirks, while Sam also smirks

Sam: "Yup. At least she convinced (Y/N) not to fly up here and kill him. Man, he would just burn the whole academy"

Mako: "Like his father did to Beacon?" he laughs, while Sam chuckles

Sam: "Yeah, one of the funniest stories I heard back then"

*Flashback begins*

Nora: "Guys, she has to go to the vault"

While everyone frowns, Ruby starts to smile

Ruby: "That's actually a risk... we hadn't considered" (Y/N) smiles and chuckles

(Y/N): "I can see it in your eyes, Ruby. You're thinking one of those crazy ideas of yours again, aren't ya?" He ruffles Ruby's hair "Well, what do you have in mind, Petals?" He smiles at her

Jaune: "Wait, I think she has a point. We've been so focused on trying to keep the vault closed that... we never once thought about using what was inside"

Oscar: "The Staff of Creation"

Ruby: "Maybe we can use it to save Penny, and get everyone in Atlas and Mantle to safety" Just then, Weiss gets a message on her scroll. She pulls it out and sees who sent it. She then smiles

Weiss: "Well, you'll never guess who just contacted me"

Sam: "Let me guess... Winter" he smirks

Weiss: "Hey, how in the dust you know it?!"

Sam: "Because who else could make you smile that bright if not her... Almost making me jealous"

Weiss: "We won't discuss this now, Samuel. At least we have some help from inside"

Ryze: "Wait a second, Winter contacted you? For real?" Weiss nods, making Ryze chuckle "Guess I got to her"

(Y/N): "Your little talk with her when she captured you?" he chuckles "Ladies and gents, I thought I will not live to see the day Ryze Matoi gives someone a talk instead of beating the crap out of them" he got up from the ground "Guess the best be if we discuss this inside. Let's go" the group moves back inside, with Nora and Ruby helping Penny.

Everyone returns to the dining hall to figure out the details of the plan

(Y/N): "Okay, so what we got now are people trapped in the tunnels beneath Atlas, and James has a gun or rather a bomb aimed at everyone in Mantle right now. And our only chance is to use the Staff of Creation, which is deep down under the academy. As soon as we open the vault, the virus will kill Penny. And if Ironwood gets at least one tiny suspicion, he will blow Mantle to pieces" Jaune meanwhile helps Penny by amplifying her aura when needed

Oscar: "There's also something else to consider" he takes over "The Staff of Creation can only be used for one purpose at the time. Once we use it for anything else, Atlas will fall onto Mantle. Atlas has enough gravity Dust to keep it from plummeting immediately, but soon as it runs out, no one will want to be here when it hits the surface"

Elly: "These lands around Mantle are mostly frozen ocean. The second Atlas will land, the ice barrier will break and both cities will get underwater, killing anything and anyone left here" she got a beep on her scroll. She takes it out and walks outside the room

Sam: "Okay, so what if we use the staff to get everyone out of Solitas and to safety? Like another kingdom?" Oscar waves his hand

Oscar: "We can't just wave it like a magic wand and make our problems go away. And we haven't even told you about... him"

Yang: "About him who?" she leans in while Oscar gives Ozpin control

Ozpin: "The spirit in the staff, like Jinn. His name is Ambrosius, and he's, well... a character. He can build anything you want, but only if you can explain to him how. Like any craftsman, he'll need blueprints, some kind of reference to help him with his creations. One way to help would be to have real-world examples that we can show him"

Whitley: "I've already gone through the city layouts for the SDC evacuation. Maybe I can help" the rest smiles at him

Mako: "Can't believe he isn't as much of an ass as his bastard murderer father" he whispers to Sam, who just shakes his head

Sam: "He was. Trust me, I saw it first hand" Ozpin got serious again

Ozpin: "There's still James and his bomb to consider"

Ruby: "(Y/N)..." she turns to him "I know you want to kill him, but I also know about yours and his past. Please, think about old Ironwood, I need you to spare him"

(Y/N): "Are you for real Ruby? This man threatens a whole city with a nuclear bomb. Nothing would be left, not even ash. If he gets the staff, then Mantle will freeze, and if not then he will bomb it. He lost his mind long ago, this is not the same James I knew"

Ruby: "But if we kill him, then the Atlas military will go nuts, and more people will be in danger than they already are. Cookie, you know it too good that he will kill anyone who gets in his way. And you are slowly turning to do the same... Please... don't be like him..." she holds (Y/N) left hand "Don't forget what's important, not like Ironwood. You're better than this Cookie. I know people change, even us. But we can't forget why we're fighting. For WHAT we're fighting" (Y/N) looks at her, and chuckles

(Y/N): "I told you, your speeches are a grade higher than mines, Petals. Listen, I will not kill him, but if we don't get him in custody, and he will try to hurt any of you, then I will not hold back. Okay?"

Ruby: "Just don't kill him"

Ryze: "If anything, we will pull off Nora and break his legs"

Nora: "I taught you good, my apprentice" she states proudly

(Y/N): "Okay, Ironwood will be kept alive. But that doesn't solve our problem with the bomb"

Weiss: "Oh, I think I have a plan for that" she looks at Emerald, who perks up in surprise

Ryze: "Well well well... Looks like we got some use for you, Em" he smirks

*End of flashback*

Another ship flies directly beneath Atlas with Team RWBY, (Y/N), and Ryze along with the Schnees and Klein comes up under the giant hole

Blake: "Okay, with phase one out of the way, we can start phase two. Getting real Penny to the vault"

Oscar: "I blasted a hole through the bottom of Atlas that leads right into the vault, and I doubt they've had the time to repair it. It should still be there. Of course, that's the easy part"

(Y/N): "Mom, you got our two bids out of there?" he checks in with Elly

Elly: "Yup, Robin and Qrow are out. The remaining Ace Ops are secured with a little help from Marrow. You are good to go kids"

(Y/N): "Sure" he puts his scroll down "Okay, Robyn and Qrow are out. They took care of the payload so nothing should stand in our way"

The airship door opens up, and the group moves. Ruby uses her semblance on all of them and flies into the hole, bringing them all up into the vault. Once there, the group approach the vault doors

Ryze: "As soon as Penny opens the door, we move in, get the relic and save her from self-destruction"

At the door, Weiss, (Y/N) and Ryze stand guard while the others help Penny open the door. Penny engages her Maiden powers and puts her hand on the door. Just then, the door lights up before segments fall straight down, opening the way for them. The second it does, Ruby uses her semblance on all of them except for Penny, who remains at the door entrance, and flies straight into the dimension that the relic is kept. Unlike the last one, which looked like a desert, this realm is a lush grassy landscape with a few colorful flowers. Ruby grabs the staff, and everything outside the vault freezes in place. Blue mist springs forth from the head of the staff and soon enough, a muscular man with gold chains around his body, and long, light blue hair tied back in a ponytail appears before them. The Spirit in the staff, Ambrosius

Ambrosius: "Ahh, it seems someone has come to engage in my creative wiles!" he then shows a little annoyance "All I'll say that it had better be worth it after my last project. A floating city? How pedestrian"

Ryze: "Oz wasn't lying. He's a character"

(Y/N): "Yup"

Ambrosius: "I prefer 'extraordinary artist' thank you very much. I would expect at least some recognition from two Guardians" he turns around

(Y/N): "I'm going to assume all spirits of relics know we're Guardians"

Ryze: "Yup, seems like it"

Ruby: "Hello, Mr. Ambrosius, sir. Listen, it's about our friend. She's... she's dying" Ruby gets his attention as she looks between him and Penny. Ambrosius floats upside down

Ambrosius: "I'm going to assume that you already know it's against the rules for me to bring someone back from the dead, so..."

Ruby: "That's not what we want"

Ryze: "Penny... is not your usual girl, more or less"

Piquing his curiosity, Ambrosius flies over to Penny and brings out a monoscope to get a look at her, and what's inside her body. What he found, get him very interested

Ambrosius: "So she isn't! Oh, I'd love to meet whoever did this! Ah, I see" he floats back to them "There's something eating away at her. Now, I'm guessing you think you have some sort of clever plan to save her. Just know that I will give you exactly what you asked for, and I don't want any whining or complaints when it's not what you wanted" Ruby nods to (Y/N) who uses his scroll to show Ambrosius Penny's schematics

Ruby: "We brought you her schematics"

(Y/N): "P.E.N.N.Y. 2.0, Pietro Polendina's and my mother's greatest invention. Too bad she can't be here, but maybe another time, Ambrosius"

Ambrosius: "I'd love to meet her! Oh my, the person who could get my creative spirit to the maximum! Haha!" he inspects Penny's blueprints like a kid inspects candies in a candy store

Ruby: "We want you to make a new version of her, using the exact same robot parts"

Ambrosius: "That was... curiously worded, girl"

(Y/N): "An exact copy of her would also have the virus telling her to self-terminate. An exact copy of her without the virus will cease to exist the moment you make something else. And we don't want to lose her again" Ambrosius chuckles

Ambrosius: "You've done your homework"

Ryze: "We didn't have much choice"

Ruby: "We want you to create a new version of her, using her existing robotic parts taking the virus with them," Ambrosius thinks, twirling in the air away from the group to make a series of complex hand gestures. (Y/N) meanwhile hides his scroll and everyone looks to Ruby, who shrugs

Ambrosius: "Hmmm... Okay, but if I take the robot parts out of her, that would leave..."

Blake: "Penny. The girl who's always been there underneath" this causes Ambrosus to hum again as he scratches his chin and thinks more

Ruby: "We know that you can't destroy. It's against the rules you live by. But, you wouldn't be destroying her. Her soul is who she is" She smiles while Yang flexes her right arm

Yang: "The mechanical parts are just... extra. That's all they are" Ambrosius looks at her arm for a moment

Ambrosius: "But... A soul without a complete body. What would be left?" Ruby smiles

Ruby: "I don't know. I guess you'll just have to... get creative"

(Y/N): "I don't think there's a living man on Remnant who is as creative as the spirit from the Staff of Creation. Or maybe I'm wrong again?" he smirks. Ambrosius laughs at their attitude

Ambrosius: "Hahaha, well I supposed I could do... and then add a touch of... But if I do that, then how much of the old Penny would be my work, and how much would be... her," he wonders as he makes more magical lines in the air with his hands. "Just coming up to the surface," he then turns back to them. "This is all very exciting... and very dangerous. Uh, I don't know what the results are going to be"

Weiss: "We don't have any other choice. What we do have is the united belief in her. In Penny" Ambrosius smiles

Ambrosius: "Then prepare yourself... to witness my artistry!"

Ambrosius waves his hands in the air before sending out a few flying projectiles of mist that fly and encircle Penny. Penny slowly floats into the air, her eyes turning green, and her body begins to glow. Her body lights up, temporarily blinding the others. When it dims, they see not one, but two Pennys standing before them. The key difference is that one has a robot body while the other... has a real, human body. Ambrosius snaps his fingers

Ambrosius: "It's done" he then disappears with a wink

Outside, the kingdom of Atlas begins to move, and that works as the signal for the others. In one room, Team JNR along with Oscar, Emerald, Mako, and Sam are working on one terminal

Jaune: "I guess that's the signal then. Seems like things are moving forward in the Vault" he starts typing

Nora: "Hopefully Penny is going to be okay"

Oscar: "If Atlas is moving, then we need to get the word out to everyone both here and in Mantle, preferably before they start panicking"

Emerald: "Meaning, we need to hurry!"

Sam: "Jaune you got this or do you need help?"

Jaune: "I know! And I think I got something..." he starts the live feed "Um... that did something... right?"

Ren: "You're live. Everyone can see and hear you now"

Jaune: "Oh" he collects himself "Citizens of Atlas and Mantle. Listen closely, because what we have to tell you is very important: Atlas is falling, but-," but then the signal cuts out suddenly. "Wait, what happened?"

Sam: "It's dead. The entire CCT system is down across the cities. But, we didn't get the message out yet. What the Hell is going on?" he types on the computer, but nothing comes up

Oscar: "The more important question is: What do we do now?"

Back down in the vault, the group walks up to the two Pennys. While one looks exactly like the original, the other has her hands and legs exposed due to no robot parts there

Ruby: "...Penny"

(Y/N): "Little sis? Are you there?"

Penny opens her eyes. Seeing the others, she raises her hands and inspects them, her human hands. She then looks over when the other Penny, the robotic one, starts fidgeting and sparks start flying as the virus does its job. The robot Penny short-circuits and falls onto the ground before finally shutting down, much to the real Penny's slight horror. Ruby gets a hand on her shoulder to get her attention, (Y/N) is right behind her

Ruby: "Are you... okay?" Penny looks between the robot and her friend, smiles, and then hugs Ruby

Penny: "Do hugs always make you feel this warm inside?" Ruby returns the hug

Ruby: "Yes. Yes, they do"

Penny: "Wow" she then turns to (Y/N) "(Y/N)!" she hugged him, and he instantly returns it "Wow... sibling hugs are even better! They are warmer and everything!" (Y/N) gets one little tear out of his eye

(Y/N): "They always were warm, Penny. It's just you can feel the love from them now" he smiles at her and they break the hug

Penny: "More!" she went to hug Weiss

Weiss: "We should probably make sure our theory worked... And start the evacuation" Penny meanwhile releases her and goes on a hugging spree as she hugs the rest of the group. Weiss twirls the staff around before summoning Ambrosius again

Ambrosius: "Free to create and... oh, it's you guys again"

(Y/N): "Oh, don't you worry. We're only getting started with you" he smirks, making the creative spirit cross his arms

Ambrosius: "Ugh, fine"

Yang: "We'll just give you the quick version. Can you make a bunch of doorways in Atlas that open up to a single spot in Vacuo?"

Ryze: "I still don't think that Vacuo is a good place for the thousands of refugees, but Vale is still in shambles and Mistral doesn't really like people from Atlas, leaving it as our only choice"

Ambrosius: "Sure, I'll just need coordinates and schematics for each door, an explanation for bending space and time to account for the much greater traffic on one side and, a single point of exit on the other side" Weiss holds her head

Weiss: "Okay, that's about what we expected"

(Y/N): "The plan is to funnel everybody through a central location for starters. Something like a place to act as substation between two kingdoms"

Ambrosius: "Okay, but you're going to have to give me some more details on this central location, for starters. Such as... where is it?"

Yang: "Here. A place like these Vaults. Wherever they are, they're not part of Remnant. Only accessible if you know the right way in. Seems like a safe enough place for thousands of refugees" Ambrosius smirks

Ambrosius: "You kids are either smarter... or more foolish than you realize" he sighs "Okay, I'm going to need a reference. I can assume that you have one"

Weiss: "Will these work?" she uses her scroll to show Ambrosius the blueprints for Atlas

Smirking, Ambrosius starts working his magic and creates an ovular portal behind the group. In another space entirely, he also creates circular platforms that have portals of their own and different walkways that connect those platforms, all leading to one larger platform with a single large portal. In Atlas and Mantle, portals pop out all over in front of the people. Joanna is the first down in Mantle to walk through one of the portals, and eventually smiles when she sees that a path to safety has opened up for her and her people

Weiss: "People enter from Atlas and Mantle on one side... and leave on the other side with a one-way ticket to Vacuo"

Ambrosius: "Well, everything appears to be in order. You were quite thorough. Disappointingly so" he lounges about in mid-air

(Y/N): "So, it's done then?"

Ambrosius: "Yeah..." he waves them off. The group nod and turn to leave, with Penny noticing her robot body dissipating into dust. "Oh, and one last point of clarification about this... central location of yours... Do not FALL" he warns them, making everyone look uneasily

(Y/N): "Well, I and Ryze can fly so if anything, we can catch people"

Ambrosius: "Okay, and with that dire warning..." he takes a bow and disappears again. The group approach their portal

Weiss: "We did it" She nads Penny the staff

Penny: "What do we do now?" Ruby steps up

Ruby: "We go to Vacuo. All of us... and hope that we've thought of everything" Meanwhile, somewhere in Atlas, Cinder and Tick hide in cloaks, smiling evilly, with Tick showing off her metal teeth as the duo eye the portal

Meanwhile, in the academy, Oscar and the rest of his group think about how to inform the citizens of the kingdom

Oscar: "So, what do we do now?"

Mako: "I think all we can do is stick to the plan and tell everyone about the portals that lead to Atlas"

Ren: "But, we can. We'll just have to use the portals ourselves and get to the people. Spread the word and get them moving as quickly as we can" Emerald walks up to their portal

Emerald: "Are we... sure these things work?" Everyone turns to look at Jaune, who groans. He is propelled out of the portal and onto his face in the pocket dimension. He stifles the urge to vomit as the rest of the group follows after him

Jaune: "Okay, we need to stick to the plan. Nora, Sam, and I will gather the civilians, everyone else, keep to your roles here. Remember, the mission here is keeping everyone safe and getting them to Vacuo in one piece. Nothing else matters right now"

Ren: "You sure you'll be alright with just the three of you?"

Sam: "Shade is the one kingdom that Salem hasn't attacked yet, meaning they have loads of Huntsman and Huntresses there, with Teams SSSN and CFVY. However, we're about to send another kingdom's worth of people, all scared and worried, at their front door. That level of negativity will no doubt bring in scores of Grimm in a matter of minutes. If anyone's gonna need help, it's gonna be all of them" he then sighs

Nora: "He's right. This is what we're here for" this makes Ren smile, while Sam looks at the portal to Vacuo. Mako gets near him and puts a hand on his shoulder

Mako: "What got you so worried?"

Sam: "Well... I will have a chance to meet with my dad in Vacuo. I just don't know how will he react when he sees me"

Mako: "Hey, we will cross this bridge when we get there. Come on, we have a job here first"

With that being said, they separate and move on to their respective roles, with the others running ahead while Jaune and Nora use various methods of flying and Sam uses his vines around some bridges to swing around from one portal to another. He jumps through one portal, only to be met with a brick thrown by one of the civilians

Sam: "Ow! What the fuck, man!" he holds his face from the brick, causing all the civilians to hide like mice only to slowly come back out a moment later "Alright everyone! I'm a Huntsman and I need you to listen to me closely and carefully" He pulls out his license

(Y/N) and the rest of his group walk through the portal, looking around the central location

(Y/N): "I got some Rainbow Road flashback from this..."

They look to their right, seeing Fiona entering the space. She turns to them, waving, and (Y/N) returns it before propelling himself to her with his flames

(Y/N): "You guys got everyone from the crater I hope" Fiona nods

Fiona: "Yhm. May checks the mines one more time to be sure we got everyone"

(Y/N): "Good. Because I don't want anyone to stay there when Atlas falls on Mantle. Oh, and Robyn and Qrow escaped. Hope they get here soon. For now, head to that giant portal in the center. It should get you all to Vacuo'' He pointed to it, and Fiona salutes, leading her group towards there while (Y/N) rockets back to his group "Refugees from the crater are moving on, we should get them to Vacuo soon" They look around seeing Sam, Jaune and Nora moving through the portals, spreading the word to the others. Meanwhile, Mako, Ren, Oscar, and the rest of the happy huntresses escort the people through the central location to the portal to Vacuo, keeping them safe from falling off the pathways

Blake: "Shouldn't there be more people by now?"

(Y/N): "Listen, our main goal is to get Penny and the Staff to Vacuo. We can leave the evacuation to the rest. They're doing well so far. Besides, when Penny crosses the portal she will be near the Vacuo's walls, close to Shade Academy where I hope Professor Theodore will know what to do. Then we can help with evacuation" They make their way to the Vacuo portal. Near it, Mako, Ren, and Emerald move on their part of the mission

Oscar: "Mako, you stay at this side of the portal just in case. We set the portal to open up just outside of Vacuo. Plenty of space for a large number of refugees, but still within communications range"

Mako: "Sure. I will see you in sunny Vacuo, then" He salutes and waits by the gate

Ren: "I can mask the people's emotions for as long as I can. Call for help as soon as we cross through the portal" he, Emerald, and Oscar cross through the portal to the outside Vacuo. However, they aren't welcomed with sunny weather, but with a dense sandstorm

Emerald: "Oh, you have got to be kidding me. Really? We happened to walk right into a sandstorm?!" she groans as they shield their faces

Ren: "Which way is the city? I can barely see anything ahead of me!"

Oscar: "It has to be here somewhere!" Emerald pulls out her scroll

Emerald: "Guys, this sandstorm isn't just giving us problems with our sights" she shows that she has no signal on her scroll. "We've got no signal in this mess. We can't contact the kingdom" Just then, people start coming in through the portal

Woman: "Where are we?!"

Ren: "Welcome... to Vacuo"

Back in the central location

Nora: "Head that way straight to the exit," she points ahead before flying off to another area"

However, what she doesn't notice is Cinder, in a cloak, walking by. She smirks and then suddenly a huge explosion erupts, sending dozens of civilians falling into the dark abyss below

Mako: "What the hell?!"

(Y/N): "Sam! The net! Ryze, you're with me!" Sam quickly creates a vine net for him and Ryze to grab. They took flight, (Y/N) with fire coming from his legs and Ryze using his Semblance. They caught most of the people who have fallen and got them near the portal to Vacuo

Meanwhile, people started to panic as they raced to the exit portal. (Y/N) and Ryze land next to their group who was just about to get through

Ruby: "No!" she runs ahead

(Y/N): "Carrot Top, get the Staff and yourself through the portal, NOW! We will handle this. Don't look back, we will see each other on the other side" he draws his scythe while Ryze draws his swords and they fly after Ruby. The rest of their group gets their weapons out too and follow them shortly, leaving a hesitant Penny behind

Flying in mid-air, Cinder spots (Y/N) and Ruby's group running through the crowd, and then fly ahead to meet them. Ruby uses her semblance on all of them, flying them through the civilians, but they get blocked on one of the platforms by Cinder's flames and they stop to face their opponent"

Cinder: "Your friend, Oscar, was right. But this is where the easy part ends" She draws her blades. Her words confuse the others, and that makes her smirk. "How did you know about that? Is that what you were thinking?"

(Y/N): "The Lamp, isn't it right, Fake Maiden?!" he shouts, only for Cinder to smirk again

They were about to attack, only for screams of terror to occur on the platform next to them. They look over, seeing Tick moving through the civilians, killing then silently

(Y/N): "Great, this bitch again..." he looks at her "Deal with Cinder, I have some things to discuss with metal jaw" With this, he rockets himself to the neighboring platform and charges at her while the others chart forth to face Cinder "How are you alive?! I dropped you from nearly the top of Atlas Academy!"

Tick: "I told ya, ain't I? I will not die until you are six feet under!"

(Y/N): "I will end this today, and I make sure that the only thing left from you is ashes!" He looks up at her, with the fire around his eyes. Tick smirks and charges forth, the two mortal enemies clash for the final time

*Flashback*

Earlier, Tick and Neo confront Cinder and Watts

Watts: "Neopolitan and Tick, was it? I don't believe now is the most appropriate time to hold grudges"

Tick: "I ain't holding a grudge against Cindy, not at all, old man. Neo on the other hand, well, it was precisely that grudge that led her here after all. Such determination, ain't it, Cindy?" she smirks and Cinder stares at them but sighs

Cinder: "No, you're right. Neo has every right to be angry. I... know I haven't upheld my end of the bargain. I'm sorry" Neo just crosses her arms, unconvinced

Tick: "Well, it won't convince her. Maybe you should be more sincere, Cindy"

Cinder: "I'm getting there. I will give you Ruby Rose, today. But, in order to do that, I need to ask the lamp a question" she extends her hand to them, while Watts sighs

Neo narrows her eyes but then pulls off her hat, flipping it around to pull out the Lamp of Knowledge, holding it out for her. Cinder smiles and goes to take the lamp, but Neo holds onto it, glaring at Cinder. A silent message to keep her end of the bargain, or else, and then she releases the lamp

Tick: "Okay then, let's start those fireworks" Cinder nods

Cinder: "Jinn" With her name called, the spirit within the lamp comes out

Jinn: "So, do you have a question for me?"

Cinde: "I do... What do Ruby, (Y/N) and their friends have planned?"

Jinn actually looks shocked at this question, and even melancholy, but does her duty and shows Cinder's group Ruby and (Y/N)'s group past actions and their plans. Of course, the one thing that surprised Cinder is seeing Emerald working with them. After learning the answer to their question, Cinder looks to Watts

Cinder: "You once tore this kingdom apart with nothing but your intellect. How about we finish what you started?"

A while later, the group is inside the Atlas military command center. They walk right into the main control room and get everyone's attention there. Cinder sparks her flames, while Tick readies her sword, making everyone freak out. A moment later, the room is scorched in flames and everyone is mostly dead, with only a few unconscious, one of those few having been knocked out by Neo as she walks by. Watts sits down in front of the main computer and gets to work

Cinder: "You have everything you need?"

Watts: "Oh, believe me, this is everything that I could've wanted" Tick steps on a dead body

Tick: "Well, let's keep the show going" She, Cinder, and Neo exit the room, but Cinder stops at the doorway

Cinder: "Arthur, you deserve this. We'll be back" she leaves Watts to do his work as they proceed with their plan

*End of flashback*

In the center location, (Y/N) and Tick clash with their blades. Tick throws a right slash at (Y/N), but (Y/N) ducks under it and then kicks her sword away, followed by a spinning kick to her side, making her slide back. (Y/N) jumps into the air and throws some fireballs at Tick. Not allowing his opponent to catch a breath, he lands and concentrates, allowing a fire sign to appear under Tick. He closes his fist and a fire pillar emerges, but Tick evades it and kicks (Y/N) back to the edge of the platform. She rushes him, nearly falling into the void herself as (Y/N) does another dodge. He then takes flight and tries to cut her down with fast attacks.

Meanwhile, Team RWBY, Mako, Sam, and Ryze fight against Cinder. Ruby and Yang make a combo attack on Cinder, but she blocks with her sword. Blake swings her chain-scythe at her while Weiss attacks from above by jumping from one of her glyphs. However, Cinder evades their attacks with ease. Mako comes in with his metal fists, swinging at her while she deflects them with her blades. Ryze uses his Semblance on her, pinning her to the ground while Mako jumps up, getting ready to double slam her. Cinder uses her power to create a burst of flames around her, pushing Mako back and then sends a flame ad at Ryze, hitting him and freeing her from his semblance. Team RWBY makes a four-way attack on her, but she flips around their combined assault. Cinder then stabs her blades into the ground and creates a tornado of fire, flying in mid-air right above it"

Cinder: "I knew your plan would be bold, but I never could've predicted all of this," Cinder gestures to their location. "At least, not without a little help from Jinn. I suppose I have all of you to thank for one last lesson. Sometimes, if you want to win, then you can't do it alone"

While everyone's eyes are on her, Neo walks through the fleeing civilians, in disguise from her semblance. She approaches Ruby from behind and pulls out the blade from her umbrella. She then attacks Ruby from behind

However, Yang sees this

Yang: "Ruby!" she activates her Semblance, and pushes Ruby out of the way to take the hit herself. Yang tumbles and falls off the edge of the platform.

Ruby: "YANG! NO!"

Some are shocked, but others quickly move in to help. Ryze instantly takes a flight and speeds up to get faster to her. Off the side (Y/N) sees Ryze flying after his fiance. Yang opens her eyes in mid-fall just in time to see Ryze grab her by the arm, and then he tries to fly up, but the gravitational force of the void starts sucking them in

Yang: "Ryze..."

Ryze: "I... I don't think we can get out... it's sucking us in. This is the end, Goldie..."

Blake: "Yang! Ryze!" she throws her weapon at them, but the ribbon is too short and Ryze only touched it with his fingers. Later, he looks at Yang

Ryze: "At least I die with a woman I love" he leans in and they kiss as Ryze deactivate his powers as they slowly pummel into the void, only to disappear a while later, shocking everyone

(Y/N): "RYZE!" his screams gaining Penny's attention as her powers begin to come out. Sam fall to his knees on the edge

Sam: "Ryze... no"

However, they have no time to mourn as Neo attacks Ruby from behind. Ruby manages to block the sneak attack but gets pushed back as Neo kicks her in the stomach. Tears fall down Sam's cheeks before he refocuses on Neo, his anger boiling. Meanwhile, Blake and Weiss turn their attention to Cinder. Ruby makes a swing with her scythe at Neo, but she twirls over it and then thrusts her umbrella at her, which she narrowly dodges. Sam jumps up above her, his sword ready to kill. She looks up just in time to see him slashing his sword down on her, only for her to shatter like glass from her semblance. He growls and looks around to find Neo attacking Ruby again, and goes straight for them

Meanwhile, (Y/N) remains shocked where he's standing, unable to believe his teammate and closest friend is gone. This leaves him open from behind. Tick uses this occasion to slash at his torso, damaging his Aura a little. She tries to stab her sword down on him, but he rolls out of the way and spins around, finally kicking her in the jaw. He picks up his scythe and gets ready to clash again

Tick: "Oh, does someone want to cry for his friend? Whatcha gonna do now?"

(Y/N): "Whatever it takes... To close your fucking metal jaw forever!" The flames around his body change to blue as he rushes at her

Meanwhile, Weiss and Blake move and bounce around off the former's glyphs as they attack Cinder, who flies in the air and blocks or evades their attacks

Penny: "Why did you come back?!" Cinder looks back to see Penny flying at her with her Maiden powers "Why couldn't you just learn your lesson?!" she throws a punch at Cinder that sends her flying back. But the Fall Maiden just smirks

Cinder: "Oh, Penny. I did"

Penny tries to bring out her swords but realizes that she no longer has them, and gets blasted back to the main platform by Cinder's flames. Penny growls and creates new blades with her powers and flies back at Cinder. The pair meet in mid-air and clash with their blades, but Cinder pushes Penny back with an arc of fire at her. She goes after her, only to get pulled back by Weiss's black glyph. However, she burns through the glyph with her flames and then looks to see Weiss and Blake on another platform. She creates a swarm of black knives and launches them at the pair. Weiss and Blake notice the civilians coming in from behind and Weiss creates the sword of her armor summon to block them, though some get through. The ones embedded in the ground then explode, sending Weiss and Blake into the air. Weiss saves herself with a black glyph while Blake throws her chain-scythe at the platform and swings around to land back on top

Back with the others, Ruby and Sam continue to fight against Neo. Ruby fires off her scythe behind her, propelling her forth as she spins her blade at Neo, who flips over the attack and then opens up her umbrella to block the shots from Sam's pistols. Sam jumps forward, slashing his sword at her legs, but she twirls over his attack and then deflects a few thrusts of his blades. Ruby comes in from behind and attacks with her scythe, but she jumps over Ruby and lands behind them. Ruby attacks her, swinging her scythe around, but Sam hesitates when he sees Penny fighting Cinder, Weiss, and Blake on another platform, and (Y/N) fighting Tick and is unsure of what to do

Weiss: "Sam! Keep helping Ruby! We got this!" he nods and gets back to fighting with Neo

Back with (Y/N), he clashes his scythe with Tick's swords again but then does a backflip kick under his chin. The duo have a staredown

(Y/N): "I'm really getting tired of your resistance. Don't you see that Cinder is using your lust for revenge? That Salem is using it. She will mostly use you and Neo just like she used Roman" Neo looks back at (Y/N) for a while, before swiping away a slash from Sam

Tick: "Oh shut up! If ya think I will just switch sides like good ol' Em, then you must be crazier than I am" the duo rush at each other again

On the other side in Vacuo, Ren tries to keep the large number of refugees hidden with his semblance, but due to the sheer volume of them, his Aura quickly depletes and he falls onto his hands and knees

Ren: "I'm sorry. I'm spent" he takes a few breaths

Emerald: "Where's Penny? Wouldn't she be able to deal with this sandstorm?" Oscar realizes something

Oscar: "Wait, Penny should've been here by now. Something must've happened" he tries to enter the portal, only to get knocked back onto his butt "What the- why can't I-"

"Oh no... Ambrosius. When the others told him to make a one-way exit to Vacuo, he gave them exactly what they asked for. A one-way exit... with it only being an exit and not an entry. With no way to get back inside" Ozpin realizes. Oscar runs back to the others

OScar: "We can't go back. The portal won't let us" a loud oar can be heard from the distance. They look ahead to see a swarm of Ravagers, large bat-like Grimm, flying in and begin attacking the refugees, prompting the trio to draw their weapons.

Back in the central location, the battle rages on as Penny continues her battle against Cinder. The two Maidens fly through the air, coming to blows time and again. On one of the platforms, (Y/N) continues his lash out on Tick, as the Fall's Guardian powers emerge, enlightening the whole area with a blue flame pillar emitting from him

(Y/N): "I won't be holding back with you... you're dying today..."

Tick: "I would like to see you tr-" she gets cut off, as (Y/N) lashes at her with his scythe, pushing her back. All she can do is dodge or part, while (Y/N) goes full offensive, with a blank expression on his face. Tick tries to reach for her clock, to let her know when her Semblance will end, but (Y/N) kicks her and the object falls into the void. Without anything to help her know, Tick decides to go full-on.

Back with the others, Penny flies through the air before she gets hit by an explosion from Cinder's power. She reaches out with her Grimm arm to grab Penny, only for Weiss to fly in on her Queen Lancer summon and save her. Meanwhile, Jaune and Nora appear and see the chaos before them. Mako joins them soon after he guided the rest of the civilians on the central platform out of this hellhole

Jaune: "Priority one. The people come first" They separate to evacuate more people. Mako stops when he spots (Y/N) letting it all out. Using his eye he checks his Aura level to see it nearly in red at 36%. He jumps down on this platform, punching Tick away

Mako: "(Y/N)! You need to be careful! Your Aura is nearly in red! Keep the Ignition at bay!" he parties a slash from Tick with his baseball bat

(Y/N): "Mako... Go help Penny and Weiss. I got this bitch here. Don't worry about my Aura"

Mako: "Are you su-"

(Y/N): "That's an order. Go!" he cut him off. Mako reluctantly nods before running up to the central platform

Back with Penny and Weiss, Weiss tries to fly Penny to safety

Penny: "Weiss, all Cinder has ever wanted is the Maiden power... I can buy you all time"

Weiss: "Penny, no-" but then they get attacked by Cinder, who destroys her summon and sends the two crashing onto the main platform where all the civilians are running to. Cinder lands before them, smirking, and Penny sees Weiss hurt. Penny stands protectively in front of Weiss

Penny: "I'm right here. I'm the one you want" Cinder chuckles

Cinder: "I want it ALL"

She charges at Penny, only to get sucker-punched in the face by Mako, followed by an uppercut to the chest and then a roundhouse kick to the face that sends her flying. Blake then joins in and looks at Weiss

Blake: "Hurry, get up!"

Weiss gets back up and grabs the relic and makes a run for it while the other three stand to fight Cinder. On another platform, Ruby and Sam continue their fight against Neo. Ruby twirls her scythe around and throws it at Neo, who leans back to avoid it. The scythe flies at Sam who uses his vines to grab it and send it back to Neo. Neo jumps into the air to evade it, but Ruby uses her semblance to fly into the air while grabbing her scythe and swings it, nailing Neo and sending her through one of the portals around them. Cinder sees this and sends out a wave of fire at Penny, holding her back, and then another at Blake and Mako. Cinder jumps through the flames and smashes her heel down on the ground in front of them, sending them both off the platform

Penny: "Blake! Mako!" Penny flies in to help, but she's not fast enough

Mako grabs Blake and uses his double pistols with gravity dust to propel them back up, only for Cinder to send out another blast of fire at them. Mako throws Blake towards Penny and later changes his body into steel and takes the hit. The blast stops him cold and sends him falling into the abyss below where he disappears like Ryze and Yang. Meanwhile, Cinder flies off towards Ruby and Sam

Sam: "Mako!"

Blake: "MAKO!" she screams and starts crying. Weiss gets near her, also horrified at seeing Mako fall

Weiss: "Come on, we have to get this done. For Ryze, for Yang, and for Mako" she tries to fight the tears

Sam collects himself. Just then, they see a circle of flames beneath their feet, and Weiss gives Ruby the relic before pushing them both out of the way. The flames explode, sending Weiss up into the air before she crashes back down, her aura depleted. Just then, Neo comes back through the portal and attacks Ruby, only for Sam to get in her way. He throws slash after slash, his powers flashing with anger behind his eyes. Despite it, Neo dodges them all. Ruby comes in, swinging her scythe while holding onto the relic, but Neo flips over and kicks her in the face, followed by swinging her umbrella up to knock the relic out of her hand. She kicks Ruby into Sam and swings her umbrella at them. Sam moves around to take the hit, but it sends both of them over the edge. Sam gets some momentum going, as he throws Ruby onto another platform. He later gets some vines to swing himself to the platform next to hers, however, Crescent Rose falls to the void Ruby watches her weapon fall into the abyss. She looks back to Neo, who glares back at her

Ruby: "Whatever you wanted... I hope it was worth it" she has her arms out, challenging her

Neo narrows her eyes, brings out her blade, and thrusts it at Ruby. However, Ruby falls over the edge, using her semblance to fly under the bridge and come up behind Neo, pushing her off the edge. Neo drops the relic onto the bridge while holding onto the edge, but before she can do anything, she gets hit from behind by Cinder, and falls over the edge, clamping on Neo's leg. Cinder picks up the relic and approaches them. Neo reaches up for her, but Cinder reaches out and takes the lamp instead

Cinder: "You never should've threatened me" she kicks Neo's umbrella off the edge, and extends the staff. "And you..." Ruby tries to activate her Silver Eyes "Should have never been born, same as your lover" she then hits Neo's hand, causing both to fall off the edge

Penny: "Ruby!" Penny flies in while carrying Blake

Cinder growls and sends out a blast of fire at them. Penny throws Blake while taking the hit, and Blake catches Ruby. She throws Gambol Shroud and it reaches the edge of a platform. However, as they swing around, Cinder shoots off the ribbon, sending both Ruby and Blake into the abyss below after Neo

Penny: "No" Off to the side, (Y/N) saw what happened"

(Y/N): "Ruby! Blake!" his eyes widen

Tick: "Seems like your sweet flower has withered, Grimm Reaper! Don't you worry, you will see her soon enou-" she gets cut off as she starts panting, signalizing her Semblance stopped working "No! Not now!" She then looks up, seeing (Y/N) glaring at her, his eyes full of anger

(Y/N): "Good thing my grandma told me how your Semblance works. Now, the real fun can begin" he cracks his knuckles and later neck "Your Aura is low now, meaning it won't save you"

Tick: "Save me... from what? You overgrown gardening too-" she gets cut off, as (Y/N) impales his scythe in her chest. She starts gasping for air, as blood shoots from the wound

(Y/N): "From me," he says without any emotion. After retrieving his scythe out, he wipes its blade on Ticks clothes before putting it back to his hip. He moves to the moribund Faunus and puts his hand on her head "Grimm Reaper sends his final regards. See you never" as the answer she spits some blood at (Y/N) face. He wipes it stoically before starting to burn her body to ash, just like Cinder did to Pyrrha. After Tick is gone, he starts panting, only for Cinder to get his attention

Cinder: "Interesting. You're really growing with your powers, (Y/N). And the way you killed her, it reminds me of something" she smirks

(Y/N): "Go to hell, bitch..."

Cinder: "This is the last chance to join me, (Y/N). Fulfill your destiny as Fall Maiden's Guardian"

(Y/N): "I will die... before I will join your pack" Cinder smirks

Cinder: "As you wish" a fire sign gets under him.

Cinder closes her fist, but (Y/N) dodges the attack in the last second before turning to her, his Silver Eyes flashing. It hit Cinder as she screams in pain. When the light dies out, she sees (Y/N) at the edge of the platform. He gives her a smirk, before somersaulting into the void

(Y/N): "I would die fighting her... I'm too exhausted... but at least Tick is gone" he smiles "Continue with the fight, Sam. Guys, I'm coming and I will die on my own terms" he smiles before disappearing into the void

Cinder: "Too bad... I will need to find another Guardian" Her attention then turns back to Penny, but before she could do anything, a few shots ring out and stop her, turning her attention to Weiss who is holding Blake's weapon"

Weiss: "Get away from her!" she fires some more shots. Meanwhile, Jaune, Sam, and Nora regroup at the portal to Vacuo

Jaune: "May, Joana, any Huntsmen that went through that gate, bring them here, now," Jaune tells Nora who nods

Sam: "We will try to help them" The three nod and Nora goes through the portal while Jaune and Sam go help the others. Weiss gets sent to the ground while Cinder floats over her

Cinder: "Of course, a Schnee would be the last one standing. Letting all her friends die first" she fires a fire breath attack at Weiss. However, Penny flies in and blocks the attack with her blades

Penny: "You've never fought for anyone but yourself, unlike Weiss, and unlike everyone else. You wouldn't know the first thing about friends"

Cinder gets ready to attack, but Jaune screams as he flies in and blasts Cinder away with his shield. He lands and draws his sword, only for Sam to swing from one platform and kick her back. The duo stands with Penny and Weiss. Cinder stands up, only to grunt in pain as her Grimm arm starts flailing around, confusing them. A moment later, it calms down. She smirks realizing what it means

Cinder: "...She's back" she smashes her Grimm arm into the floor, sending out a shockwave of fire that knocks them back

Cinder creates two swords and throws them at Jaune and Weiss, but Penny flies in and knocks them away. Cinder flips in the air and slams her heel on the ground, sending out a surge of flames that separates the four. Penny looks to her friends... but then screams when Cinder's Grimm claws pierce her chest. She looks straight at Cinder as she begins to absorb her power, only for Weiss and Sam to attack with their and Blake's blade and stop her. Penny falls onto the ground and Jaune comes to her aid. He kneels next to her

Jaune: "Penny. Just hold on. My semblance-" he goes to heal her

Penny: "No... There's not enough time to heal me" she stops him, and they look back to see Weiss and Sam fighting Cinder, but getting pushed back "She can't have the staff AND the power" she rests a hand on his left "But, there is something you can do" Jaune leans back, unwilling to do what he knows she's asking

Jaune: "N-No, I-I don't know where the others are, but... Weiss and Sam will give us time"

Penny: "Please... Let me choose this one thing" Penny reaches up to touch the hilt of his sword "Trust me"

A/N: "Dammit... it hit hard again... Vera, I'm sorry you had to live through this again..."

E/N: ";_;"

Jaune draws his sword and stares at the blade. In their fight, Cinder knocks Blake's katana out of Weiss' hand and hits her in the face, knocking her to the ground. Cinder goes to finish her off but then hears Jaune screaming in anguish. She looks over to see Jaune crying as Penny dies, her blood on his sword. Knowing that she can't get the power from Penny now, Cinder flies in, angry, at Jaune. She collides with his shield, but he pushes her back. Cinder creates another blade and attacks, while Jaune swings his sword. However, Cinder breaks Jaune's blades in half and then swings her sword, causing him to drop to the floor.

Cinder: "Where did it go?!" she demands only to get blasted from behind by a blast of ice and some vines

She looks up and is both shocked and angry, to see not only Sam but also Winter, who flies in the air, showing that Penny had Winter in her final thoughts and made Winter the new Winter Maiden. The two Maidens fly out and collide in mid-air in a massive explosion. Winter pushes Cinder back and swings her sword, but Cinder evades it and flies up high. Winter turns and fires off a blast of ice at her, but Cinder dodges it and attacks with her blade again. The two make a few swing-and-passes at each other before clashing their blades again. Cinder pushes Winter back and swings high, but Winter flies up and lands on a glyph before blasting Cinder with another ice blast. Winter then makes another glyph and summons a flock of small Nevermores to swarm Cinder. Cinder creates multiple blades and sends them at the summons, but the birds outnumber the blades, and the rest swarm around her. Cinder makes a fiery explosion to blow them all away. The two Maidens make a few more attacks at each other while Jaune and Sam help Weiss move to the exit portal. During the fight, Cinder drops the staff onto a platform and then notices the pair trying to escape. She smirks and sends out a fire blast at them, but Jaune throws out one of his shield devices to block it, but they do slide across the ground. However, Cinder makes another one of her fire circles underneath them

Winter: "No" she flies in to save them. Cinder then makes the circle explode. The blast knocks Jaune away, his aura depleted, but it sends Weiss and Sam over the edge "WEISS!" Sam tries to shoot a vine at Winter and later at Weiss, only to reach the latter. He then sighs and accepts his fate, as the duo disappears into the abyss below

Winter returns to the platform and falls onto her hands and knees, crying at being unable to save her sister. She looks back to see Cinder retrieve the staff, and bares her teeth in rage as she gets ready to attack her. However, they all hear what sounds almost like a monstrous scream echo across the central location, and release that it's about to disappear

Jaune: "We need to go... Now!" he looks at Winter, who glares at Cinder with the intent to murder

Winter: "...You are going to PAY... for EVERYTHING you've done!"

Winter flies towards the exit portal with Jaune running behind her, while Cinder escapes through another portal with the staff. After she does, the portals, bridges, and platforms begin to disappear, moving towards the exit portal to Vacuo. Winter looks back at Jaune as everything disappears. She turns and reaches out to him, but it's too late as she is already passing through the portal. Jaune races to the portal and jumps when the bridge disappears. However, the portal disappears before he can reach it and he falls into the dark abyss below like the others. In Vacuo, Nora bangs on the portal in vain to get through while Oscar, Emerald, and Ren fight off the Grimm attacking the refugees. Just as the Grimm close in, they are all blasted back by a shockwave of wind. Everyone looks back to see Winter floating towards the front of the group while the portal disappears behind them. She notices her family in the crowd and tears stream from her eyes. The roar of Grimm gets her attention. She notices the horde approaching. Winter screams out and prepares to take them all on...

Meanwhile, The large floating landmass of Atlas falls onto the now-deserted city of Mantle, engulfed in a large dust cloud. Salem and Cinder fly away from the fallout. From the cargo ship, Qrow, Robyn, Elly, and the surviving Ace Ops watch sadly as Atlas and Mantle are abandoned. Qrow desperately screams out the names of his nieces as he tries to contact them, while Elly tries to call (Y/N). Qrow's expression turns horrified when they don't respond, while Elly starts crying her eyes out, only for Elm to offer her a shoulder she could cry on. A large tidal wave appears and engulfs both Atlas and Mantle. The flood continues until both cities have been fully submerged underwater

*(Y/N) POV*

Darkness... that's all I could see when I fell through. Later I lost my consciousness. The first thing I could hear were waves of the ocean. I slowly opened my eyes to see I was lying on some kind of beach. I look up, seeing plants, trees, and then a massive weird-looking tree in the center. Then I get on my knees, cough out the water and later spot Ruby's Crescent Rose on the shore. I crawl to it with the rest of my strength

(Y/N): "Pe... tals..." I mutter before losing consciousness again and pass out face first on the sand...

R.I.P Penny Polendina (2013-2021) You were too innocent for this world, Carrot Top

A/N: Lie down

Try not to cry...

Cry a lot

*sigh* Guys, it was an amazing adventure so far. This marks the Volume 8 finale. Ruby and (Y/N)'s team managed to rescue the citizens of Mantle and Atlas to Vacuo, at the cost of Penny and the Staff of Creation. However, it seems like our heroes got transported to some weird land beyond Remnant. What it is and what it means? Guess we will have to wait till Volume 9 comes up in half a year.

Will our heroes find a way back home? What will happen to Ruby and (Y/N) when they see Penny's body drop from the sky (it was left on the platforms, so it will drop down) Will Salem attack Vacuo before Ruby and Co. can get out of it? Wait and see in Volume 9 of Continuing the Legacy!

P.S Elly doesn't know about the part with the central location and gates all around Atlas, so she thinks (Y/N) is dead, same as Qrow thinks Ruby and Yang are dead too

With that, this book goes on hold until further notice (Premiere of Volume 9). That being said, A Cat and A Bird becomes my main story, until Vol 9 comes up. As always, feel free to comment and vote. Stay safe and I will see you all soon

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)