(3rd Person POV)

From the middle of the arena, Ironwood stared up at Arthur Watts, who was standing on a platform in one of the four gravity biomes. A lava geyser shot up from the fire biome to the left behind Ironwood, and another shot up from the one to the right of the gravity biome Watts was in. 

Watts aimed his revolver at Ironwood, who drew his black revolver and aimed it behind himself. Watts pulled back his gun's hammer.

Watts: Nineteen.

Ironwood fired a Gravity Dust bullet from his black gun, launching himself toward the gravity biome. Watts fired his gun at Ironwood, who shot a Gravity Dust bullet to the side to dodge it. Ironwood then fired yet another Gravity Dust bullet to put himself back on course toward the gravity biome. 

Once he got near Watts, he fired yet another Gravity Dust bullet to his left, sending him toward a floating wall on his right, which he kicked off of to put himself in the air above Watts. 

Not expecting this move, Watts had begun to aim his revolver at Ironwood and instead ended up looking up at him in surprise before jumping away just as Ironwood came down and punched with his right hand. The punch connected with the floor, and as Ironwood stood back up, he tossed his black revolver into the air and caught it by the muzzle, having flipped it around.

Watts once again attempted to aim at Ironwood, but Ironwood swung the handle of his revolver at Watts' face. Watts leaned back to dodge, leaving an opening for Ironwood to punch him in the diaphragm. 

While Watts was still in the air, Ironwood spun around and kicked him in the gut, sending him flying across a gap to another platform. Watts righted himself in mid-air and landed on his toes, sliding backward. 

He barely managed to lean his torso to the side to dodge a normal bullet fired by Ironwood. He then blocked two more normal bullets with a Hard-Light shield deployed from his rings. He aimed his gun at Ironwood.

Watts: Eighteen.

Watts fired and then activated one of his rings. Ironwood dove and rolled out of the way of the Electricity Dust bullet that Watts had fired at him. He got up in a kneeling position and aimed his white revolver at Watts, but there was a dull ping noise, followed by the gravity around Ironwood changing to levitate him into the air. There was another dull ping, and Ironwood was slammed into a floating wall.

Ironwood: Ah!

Watts smirked and ran away, jumping to another platform, and Ironwood got up and gave chase along the floating walls. There was another dull ping, and Ironwood began to fall from the wall he was standing on. He fired a Gravity Dust bullet from his black gun to throw himself onto the adjacent platform and rolled across the floor. 

The force of the Gravity Dust bullet proved to be a little too much, as Ironwood stumbled over to the edge once he got on his feet. As he teetered on the edge, he fired his white revolver, using the recoil to steady himself and keep himself on the platform.

Watts created small Hard-Light platforms to traverse over the sunken geyser biome toward another gravity biome. Ironwood followed him across, barely managing to make it from one Hard-Light platform to another before they disappeared. 

He fired his white gun at Watts, who activated one of his rings, triggering a geyser beneath Ironwood. Ironwood cried out as the boiling water hit him and threw him to the side.

As he fell, Ironwood aimed his black gun below him and fired a Gravity Dust bullet, sending him flying back up into the air to land in the gravity biome that Watts had fled to. He ran up a wall and onto the underside of a platform. 

He and Watts ran parallel with one another, firing normal bullets at each other, with Ironwood using his white gun to shoot and Watts using his Hard-Light shield to defend. Watts shot two Fire Dust bullets at Ironwood. The first bullet missed, but the second bullet hit, causing Ironwood's aura to flicker.

Watts: Fourteen, thirteen.

Ironwood leapt across the gap toward Watts, who activated one of his rings, causing Ironwood to fall down to the platform below. As he fell, Ironwood used his black gun to fire a Gravity Dust bullet, which hit Watts, knocking him off his platform and into a wall. Ironwood landed on his feet, while Watts fell along the wall, landing on his shoulder on the platform that Ironwood was on.

While Watts started to get up on his hands and knees, Ironwood holstered his revolvers, walked over and kicked him in the gut, knocking him into the wall. Watts landed on his feet, just in time for Ironwood to punch him in the head. 

Watts attempted to punch back with his right hand and then his left, but Ironwood leaned to the sides to avoid his fists, grabbed onto Watts' upper arm, and punched him hard in the ribs. He then grabbed Watts by the throat and pressed him up against the wall, lifting him up from the floor. 

Watts aimed his revolver at Ironwood's face and shot an Electricity Dust bullet and a Fire Dust bullet, forcing Ironwood to let go and dodge.

Ironwood grabbed Watts' wrist, reached across his back to draw his white gun, and aimed it at Watts. 

Watts leaned to the side, grabbed the underside of Ironwood's gun, and jumped up and over Ironwood, who fired his gun while Watts still had the muzzle in his hand. Due to his wrist being twisted around, Ironwood was forced to let go of Watts, who then let go of Ironwood's gun.

Ironwood aimed his gun at Watts, but Watts shot first, firing an Electricity Dust bullet, which Ironwood blocked with his right arm. Watts flew backwards, turned in mid-air and landed on the floor.

Watts: Ten.

Ironwood looked at his prosthetic arm for a moment and then fired his white gun at Watts, who fled. Ironwood chased him, and Watts used a ring to change gravity once again and ran up a wall in front of him. 

As he chased Watts up the wall, Ironwood fired at him with his white gun. Watts turned and shot a Fire Dust bullet and Ice Dust bullet, which knocked the black gun from Ironwood's hand. Watts shot one more Fire Dust bullet and then ran up onto the top of the wall.

Watts: Seven.

He shut off the gravity for the wall and fled, but Ironwood managed to grab onto the edge with his left hand and pulled himself up. Once he reached the top, he saw Watts fleeing to another gravity biome on Hard-Light platforms. Instead of following, Ironwood looked off to the left.

Immediately after Watts arrived in the other gravity biome, a lava geyser erupted from the sunken fire biome below. Watts looked back at it, and when the lava fell, he looked around in surprise, having lost sight of Ironwood. As Watts peeked over the edge at the fire biome, Ironwood leapt up onto a platform behind him and began running.

Watts: Hmph.

Ironwood fired a normal bullet, striking Watts' shoulder and causing his aura to flicker. Watts cried out in pain, then turned and angrily fired an Ice Dust bullet, which froze Ironwood's right foot to the floor. 

Watts moved up to the underside of a platform above them. Ironwood shot the ice trapping his leg, shattering the ice, and ran toward Watts, firing at him. Watts blocked with a Hard-Light shield and fired back with a normal bullet at first, followed by a series of Electricity Dust bullets. At one point, Ironwood's bullet and Watts' bullet deflected each other.

Ironwood and Watts leapt at each other and grabbed onto each other's hands, rotating in the air due to the conflicting gravitational fields. Ironwood let go of Watts' gun and punched him in the jaw, and Watts countered by headbutting him. 

Watts changed the gravity again, and the two fell onto the underside of a platform, landing on their sides. They got up, and Watts activated one of his rings and attempted to leap away, only for Ironwood to grab his ankle and slam him onto the floor. Watts' aura flickered and then broke.

Watts stood up and aimed his revolver, only to see Ironwood already charging toward him. Ironwood tackled him, and the two went flying from the gravity biome, turning and flailing as they entered the planet's true gravitational pull. 

They both slammed into the floor of the arena's center platform, and the impact broke Ironwood's aura. As he slid across the floor, Watts righted himself into a kneel and used his rings on the platform, which began to rise up. Ironwood stood up and checked his gun's ammo, panting.

Watts: You never appreciated my genius, James.

Ironwood put the revolving chamber away and flipped his gun around to hold it by the muzzle.

Watts: You just stood atop it and called yourself a giant!

Watts, also holding his revolver by the muzzle, charged forward, spun, and attempted to slam the side of his left fist into Ironwood's face, but Ironwood backed away from him. Watts moved forward and slammed the butt of his revolver into Ironwood's nose, causing Ironwood to recoil and stumble back. 

Watts then attempted to punch with his left hand, but Ironwood blocked and redirected it with his right arm. Watts swung his revolver to the left at Ironwood's face again and barely missed. He then swung his revolver and his left fist to the right, but Ironwood ducked under both attacks.

While Watts was turned away, Ironwood attempted to strike him with his revolver, but Watts turned and put his left arm up to stop Ironwood's right arm. The force of Ironwood's right arm caused Watts to bend at his knees, and he then slammed his revolver into Ironwood's chest, causing Ironwood to stumble back.

Ironwood: I gave you everything you could have wanted!

Watts: You chose that fat imbecile over me!

The platform finally stopped rising, docking itself in an octagonal ring just under the Amity Communications Tower's machinery.

As Ironwood charged toward him, Watts held his gun out, but Ironwood pushed it aside with his left hand and then slammed the butt of his revolver against Watts' mouth. Watts stumbled back and then attempted to guard himself with his right arm and his gun, and Ironwood punched his arm, causing him to turn. 

Watts stumbled and backed away, while Ironwood pressed forward and struck him across the jaw with his revolver. He attempted to defend with his arm, but once again, Ironwood punched him hard enough to cause him to turn. 

As they neared a metal beam, Watts hit across Ironwood's face with his revolver and moved forward to take the offensive as Ironwood recoiled from the blow. However, Ironwood recovered and punched Watts in the gut hard enough to send him flying back against the metal beam.

Ironwood attempted to hit him with his revolver again, but Watts grabbed Ironwood's arm and attempted to aim his own revolver at Ironwood's head. Ironwood grabbed onto Watts' wrist and the two stood locked in place.

Watts: I suppose in this instance, my brains and your brawn are evenly matched.

Ironwood stared Watts in the eyes, with the barrel of Watts' revolver pressed to his temple.

Ironwood: You're smart, but you're not the only one who can count.

The two of them panted, and Watts lowered his gun, Ironwood letting go of his wrist. Ironwood started to calm down but was soon alerted by the tone in Watts' voice.

Watts: Oh, I know.

Watts dropped his revolver, and Ironwood looked at it. Watts then grabbed Ironwood's left wrist and swung him around to trade places with him. He then shoved Ironwood's arm through a gap in the metal beam and shoved himself away, collapsing to the floor.

Four of Watts' rings were placed within the gap in the beam, held in place by a Hard-Light barrier that had trapped Ironwood's left arm. Ironwood attempted to pull his arm through, only for the barrier to tear and burn his skin, causing him to scream in pain.

Watts: That was a little too close for my liking, James.

Watts stood up, flexing his fingers and then making a fist.

Watts: Rebuilding those rings is going to be such a pain.

Ironwood glared at Watts, who turned and began walking away.

Watts: Now, if you'll excuse me.

Ironwood gripped his upper arm and began slowly pulling it through the barrier again, groaning and wincing in pain.

Watts: I wouldn't do that if I were you. I mean, unless you're hoping to add more metal to that body of yours.

Ironwood stopped for a moment, panting and sweating. He closed his eyes and resumed pulling.

Watts used his remaining rings to highlight portions of the tower's machinery in cyan boxes.

Watts: All right now, where did they put them?

Behind him, Ironwood cried out, and there was a thud. Watts' eyes widened, and he looked over his shoulder to see Ironwood sitting up from the floor, panting, with smoke rising from his left arm. Watts turned to face him, shocked.

Watts: What?

Ironwood stood, charged forward, and used his right arm to grab Watts by the collar of his shirt. He slammed Watts onto the floor and continued running, scraping the right side of Watts' face against the floor, before lifting him up to dangle him over the edge of the platform. 

Lava bubbled and rose from the fire biome far below Watts, who stared down at it and then looked at the panting Ironwood.

Ironwood: I will sacrifice... whatever it takes... to stop her.

Watts chuckled, smirking.

Watts: Oh, I hope you do, James. I hope you do.

In an alley down in Mantle, Tyrian stood before Robyn, Clover and Qrow, all with their weapons drawn.

Clover: Tyrian Callows, you're under arrest.

Tyrian began laughing maniacally, and Qrow angrily ran forward and swung his sword. Tyrian blocked with his blades, but the impact knocked him into a wall. Qrow slashed at him again, but Tyrian ducked and attempted to kick Qrow's feet out from under him, only for Qrow to jump over his leg. 

Tyrian rushed forward to stab Qrow, who blocked with his sword and then slashed at him. Tyrian dodged acrobatically, standing on his hands, then turning over and leaping into the air to stab down at Qrow with both weapons, but Qrow once again blocked with the flat of his sword. 

Tyrian hopped down, and Qrow swung his sword at him, missing due to Tyrian ducking down and propelling himself backward with his guns.

Tyrian began slashing at Qrow, but Clover hooked one of the blades with Kingfisher and pulled his arm away, causing him to turn around just in time to catch one of Robyn's crossbow bolts just short of piercing between his eyes. 

He at first looked startled but then grinned smugly and turned back to Qrow, who punched him directly in the right eye, sending him stumbling. 

Qrow then kneed him in the gut, turned his sword in his hand, and slammed the end of the hilt into Tyrian's chest, knocking him away. Qrow turned his sword back around in his grip, and Tyrian slid to a stop and growled angrily.

He looked over at Clover and Robyn, then grinned at Qrow. He then ran toward them while firing his guns at Qrow, who spun his sword to block the bullets. Tyrian leapt and slashed at Clover, who turned to the side to dodge before leaning backward to dodge a slash from Tyrian's tail.

Tyrian slashed at him with his weapons, and Clover took a step past him and leaned back to go under Tyrian's attacks while grabbing the hook of his own weapon. 

As he moved behind Tyrian and straightened up, he maneuvered his pole and the hook to loop the fishing pole's wire around Tyrian's left arm and pulled on it. Qrow then leapt and slashed down at Tyrian, who blocked with his weapon on his right arm.

Qrow quickly pulled his sword away and punched Tyrian in the cheek, causing Tyrian to turn away. Tyrian put his right hand on the ground seemingly to catch himself but then brought his feet up and used his right hand to push himself up into the air. 

He pulled his left arm free of Kingfisher's line, turned upside down and kicked both Qrow and Clover in the head simultaneously. While the two recoiled from his attack, Tyrian stabbed his blades into the ground to catch himself and then pushed off, flying up through the air while Robyn aimed her crossbow at him.

He landed on a large pipe connected to a wall, and she fired a bolt at him, only for him to swipe it away with his tail. He turned toward Robyn, but Clover hooked his tail with Kingfisher and pulled him down. 

While Tyrian was on the ground, Qrow swung at him, but Tyrian rolled out of the way and got to his feet. Qrow began slashing his sword at him, but Tyrian dodged his attacks by jumping, ducking, stepping aside, and finally leaning back away from an attempted stab. 

Qrow tossed his sword into the air, the sections of the blade splitting from each other, and Tyrian watched it. While Tyrian was distracted, Qrow kicked him in the back of the head and then caught his sword.

The kick sent Tyrian stumbling across the alley to slam into a wall. He glared at Qrow, his eyes glowing purple, then moved aside as Qrow attempted to kick him in the face. Low to the ground, Tyrian moved past Qrow, who was now holding his weapon backwards with the blade curved.

They turned to face each other, and once again, Clover hooked Tyrian's tail with Kingfisher and pulled, dragging Tyrian backward and giving Qrow an opening to punch him in the cheek. Tyrian went flying through the air but managed to land on his feet. 

He launched himself forward in an attempt to stab Qrow with his weapons, but Qrow blocked with his blade. Robyn fired two bolts, both of which ricocheted off of pipes. Tyrian moved his head to dodge the first, but the second ricocheted off of Qrow's weapon and struck him in the chin, making his aura flicker.

Tyrian fell back, rolled, and got to his feet. Qrow jumped over and slashed at him, but Tyrian ducked under the first slash and jumped over the second. However, as Tyrian fell back down, Qrow repositioned himself, kicked Tyrian in the gut, caught him on Harbinger's gun barrel and fired. 

As Tyrian fell back down again, Qrow punched him in the gut and then kicked him in the side, sending him toward Clover and Robyn.

While Tyrian slid back, Clover ran forward, deploying a Gravity Bolas. He tossed the bolas and slid between Tyrian's legs, while Tyrian attempted to slash him with his right arm. The bolas successfully bound his left arm to his side. 

Clover gripped the top of his weapon's hook, and as Tyrian attempted to stab him, Clover pushed Tyrian's arm down with his left hand and used his right hand to move the pole around behind Tyrian. 

As Tyrian attempted to pull back, his right arm became tangled in Kingfisher's wire, and Clover pulled the pole and held the hook in place to restrict Tyrian's arm and pressed his tail against his back. Qrow took the opportunity to punch Tyrian in the gut.

Tyrian cried out in pain, then crouched, leaned away from Clover, hopped into the air and began screaming. Qrow moved away from him, and Clover loosened Kingfisher's cable on him and did the same, as Tyrian dropped onto his back. 

Upon impact with the ground, the ends of the bolas disconnected from each other, and Tyrian spun frantically, swinging his legs through the air, to finish freeing himself from the bolas and Kingfisher's wire. He then got to his feet, looking somewhat dizzy, and began laughing maniacally.

Robyn fired another bolt, and he turned to catch it between his teeth. He turned back to Robyn with a smug grunt. There was a small noise, and the lines in the bolt began flashing red, before the entire bolt glowed red, bursted into flame, and exploded. 

Tyrian swayed, and his aura flickered and then finally broke. With a dazed laugh, he collapsed. Robyn walked over to him, and he looked up at her, continuing to laugh until she kicked him in the face, knocking him out. She leaned down with a smirk.

Robyn: Where's that smile now?

Clover turned and used his communicator.

Clover: This is Clover. Requesting prisoner transport.

In Atlas Academy, Ironwood heard Clover's communicator transmission as he walked into his office. His left arm was heavily bandaged and resting in a sling, and his right hand was holding Watts' bag.

Clover: We have Tyrian Callows in custody.

Ironwood let out a relieved sigh and grinned. However, when he looked ahead of him, his grin instantly faded, his eyes widened in shock and he dropped Watts' bag on the floor.

(Y/N): Cinder?

Ironwood quickly turned around, his revolver aimed at (Y/N) who slowly raised his hands up in surrender.

(Y/N): I suppose that they're not going to like this...

(Y/N) put his hands down, the helmet coming off of his head.

(Y/N): There's a lot of stuff you should know.

Just outside the academy, transports of Atlas Academy students were arriving, and Winter was instructing them.

Winter: All students are to remain indoors until further notice. Faculty and upperclassmen can provide gui--

Winter's communicator made a noise, and she answered it. Ironwood's voice came through, and his tone was gravely serious.

Ironwood: Schnee.

Winter: Yes, sir?

Ironwood: Was anyone caught trying to enter the school grounds while I was away?

Winter's eyes widened, and she turned to look at the school.

Winter: N-no.

Ironwood: Are. You. Sure?

Winter's eyes widened more, and she sprinted toward the school.

Cinder: Still afraid, I see.

Cinder was standing in a hallway inside the academy, watching Winter through a window. The lights in the hall were red.

Cinder: Now show me where you've been hiding her.

While flying over Mantle, Penny received a transmission on her communicator and listened to it.

Penny: Affirmative.

Penny changed course to fly up to the City of Atlas.

Weiss: I don't understand.

Weiss was aboard a Manta that was headed toward the City of Atlas. Ruby, Jaune, Nora, Ren and Elm were also on board, and Harriet is piloting.

Weiss: Why would the general call us back without giving a reason?

Ren: Especially with evacuations still going on in Mantle.

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

Harriet: Civvy transports won't be stopping anytime soon. If the general says he needs us now, he needs us now.

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

Sometime shortly after, Team RWBY arrived in Ironwood's office, along with Harriet, Elm, Marrow Amin and Vine Zeki. Ironwood was sitting behind his desk with his back turned to them, with (Y/N) off to the side, looking at them.

Harriet: General Ironwood.

Ironwood turned his chair to face them.

Ironwood: We have made a critical error.

He placed a queen chess piece made of black glass on his desk.

Ironwood: The Black Queen was the symbol Salem showed us before we lost everything. Her way of telling us she was inside. That it was too late. We stopped Watts. We stopped Callows, but someone was here. They put this in my office to tell me that--

A look of realization crossed his face.

Ironwood: What if Mantle was just a distraction? What if it was just to draw us away from the academy to, to--

Weiss: Sir. I-it's going to be okay. We've got Mantle on our side now, and--

Ironwood: How do we know that wasn't part of their plan?

He brought his hand down on his desk and stood up. Ruby and Weiss looked at him with concern, while Blake and Yang looked at him tensely.

Ironwood: How do we know they didn't want us to bring people into Atlas by the thousands?

Vine: In trying to save everyone, we left ourselves most vulnerable.

Ironwood: Salem has been one step ahead of us this entire time!

He angrily slammed his fist down on his desk, denting it. The impact bounced Watts' bag and the chess piece, and the latter fell over and rolled across the desk, emitting the characteristic noises of glass. Ruby stepped forward, staring at the chess piece.

Ruby: It's... glass.

Vine, Marrow, Elm and Harriet looked at her, uncertain of what she meant.

Ruby: Black glass. This was...

(Y/N): Cinder Fall.

Yang: She's alive? And she's here?

Ironwood: If Cinder's here, then, for all we know, Hazel's here, too!

(Y/N): Cinder only interacted with Neo from what I've known. I've heard nothing of Hazel, yet. It wouldn't make sense. Although...

(Y/N) trailed off as Blake walked forward a few steps.

Blake: Sir, this isn't over yet. We're with you.

She placed her hand to her chest and gave him an encouraging look. He looked at her and straightened up, his voice gaining an ominously serious tone.

Ironwood: Are you with me?

Blake's cat ears folded over, and Ironwood walked around to stand next to his desk where Watts' bag was, while Vine and Marrow looked confused.

Vine: Sir?

Blake backed up to stand in line with her teammates again, her ears still folded over.

Ironwood: How did Robyn know about the Global Communications Project?

The Ace Operatives looked at Team RWBY. Blake and Yang looked nervous. Yang looked to the side, at (Y/N), in thought for a moment, but when he made no movement to help her, she then looked at Ironwood.

Yang: We told her.

Ironwood narrowed his eyes at her.

Yang: The night of the ambush.

Elm: You did what?

Yang: We were trying to help.

Something inside of Watts' bag pushed outward, as (Y/N) looked towards it, confused.

Marrow: By going behind our backs?

Harriet walked over to Yang, glaring at her. Blake's cat ears were standing up again, alert.

Harriet: Wait. Does that mean you let her escape?

Yang: Robyn is on our side!

Watching the confrontation in front of her, Blake's cat ears folded down again.

Yang: She always has been.

Ironwood: We didn't know that for sure.

The thing inside of Watts' bag pressed outward again. Weiss gripped her head.

Weiss: None of this matters right now!

Ironwood: Loyalty always matters!

Suddenly, red tentacles sprang forth beside Ironwood, who yelped and moved away, drawing and aiming his white revolver at the Seer that had emerged from Watts' bag. Everyone else in the room steps backward with widened eyes, as (Y/N) already had his pistol aimed at the creature.

Ruby gasped, Yang brought her fists up and Blake's cat ears pricked straight up in alarm. The Seer rose up high in front of the desk, and Salem's voice came from it.

Salem: General Ironwood.

The Seer's tentacles tensed and curled up, and it trembled, emitting a high-pitched screech as its head cracked. Ironwood watched in fear, backing up against a wall with his gun still aimed at the Grimm. 

The Seer withdrew its tentacles against itself, turned over, and dropped to the floor, the red smoke inside of its head fading away. It bounced down the steps, stopping in front of Team RWBY, and black smoke poured from the crack, swirling into the air and forming an apparition of Salem. Her voice echoed out from the apparition as it spoke.

Salem: The brave Huntsmen and Huntresses bested Arthur Watts. Congratulations.

Weiss, Blake and Yang stared at her in fear. Blake's cat ears were flat against her head. Ruby spoke up, showing no fear.

Ruby: We stopped Tyrian, too. And we'll stop Cinder, and anyone else you try to send here.

Ruby stepped forward as she spoke, and Blake's cat ears stood back up again.

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

Ironwood: For what?

Salem turned her head to look at Ironwood and smiled.

Salem: For me.

The Salem apparition drifted over to Ironwood.

Salem: Time isn't on your side, James. It's always been on mine.

Ironwood watched her with wide, terrified eyes.

Salem: The people of Atlas have suffered enough. Surrender the Staff and the Lamp to me, and they needn't suffer any further.

Ironwood lowered his gun.

Ironwood: That's... not going to happen.

The Salem apparition leaned down to look him in the eyes.

Salem: Simply accept the futility of your situation...

She showed him a soft and gentle-looking smile.

Salem: And this can all be over.

Ruby: We've seen what you're capable of. The lamp showed us.

Salem's feigned smile disappeared, and she straightened up. Ruby was staring confidently at her.

Ruby: It showed us everything.

Salem turned her head to look at Ruby, and then the rest of her body turned as well.

Ruby: We've seen that you can't be killed. But we've also seen you fail.

Salem stared at Ruby with narrowed eyes. She drifted across the floor to hover in front of Ruby.

Ruby: We don't have to kill you to stop you. And we will stop you.

(Y/N): Summer...

Salem: Your mother said those words to me.

Ruby lost her confident expression. An image of Summer Rose came to Ruby's mind. In the image, Summer was standing on the cliffside on Patch. The grass was brown, the wind was blowing and there were dark gray clouds in the sky.

Ruby: My... mother?

In the image in Ruby's mind, Summer appeared somewhat farther away and closed her eyes, her hands clasped together.

Salem: She was wrong, too.

Ruby began crying and quickly lowered her head and pressed her hands to her eyes. In the image in her mind, Summer was standing even farther away, turning her back to Ruby, with the wind blowing harder. 

Ruby frantically wiped her tears away. Her silver eyes flickered a couple of times, and then she yelped as her eyes emitted a brief flash. She whimpered, gripping her head and swaying. 

Salem watched as Ruby dropped to her knees, sobbing and whimpering with her head in her hands. Yang hurried to Ruby's side and dropped to her knees beside her, and Ruby leaned over to rest her head on Yang's lap. 

(Y/N) looked at Ruby, distraught, as Salem noticed this, turning to face the younger man, as she kneeled down to look at him more closely.

Salem: Branwen, Rose... You belong to these, and yet reject them. In the end you belong to none of them. You will forever stand alone. Qrow left you, Summer left you... Will you watch as you're the cause of her daughter's death as well?

The smoky apparition faded away. Yang rested her hands on Ruby, looking distraught, and Blake knelt down beside her with the tips of her cat ears folded, while Weiss watched with wide eyes.

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

Harriet: And she's apparently on her way.

Elm: But we'd be alerted if any forces had approached the Kingdom. We have long-range proximity alarms all along the coast, and--

Vine brought out his scroll and checked something.

Vine: They're offline. With all of the chaos, we didn't notice.

Marrow: Watts must have shut them down!

Ironwood's voice caught their attention. His tone was serious and lacking in emotion.

Ironwood: Or they've already been destroyed.

Ironwood walked over to the window and stared outside.

Elm: What? All of them?

He did not answer.

(Y/N): Demonic?

His voice was still shaken, but he managed to get what he was saying out.

Blake: You said in your speech that Amity Tower was ready to launch. Was that true?

He continued staring out the window with no response. Blake and Weiss looked at each other, uncertain about the silence.

Yang: No. You just said that... to lure out Watts.

Yang sat up and looked at Ironwood. He continued silently staring out the window with no emotion in his eyes.

Weiss: General Ironwood?

There was silence for a moment.

Ironwood: I sent your sister to claim the power of the Winter Maiden.

Weiss gasped, and her eyes widened.

Weiss: What?

Ironwood: When I realized we'd been compromised, I knew we couldn't wait any longer. The Staff and the Lamp have to be locked away.

He slightly tightened his grip on his revolver. Ruby sat up, wiping her eye.

Ruby: I thought... you said we could keep it.

Ironwood: Well, that was before you four lied to me about the Lamp. Before you lied to us about Robyn, before Salem was right on our doorstep.

As he spoke, he turned around to face them. He then started walking forward to stand next to his desk again.

Ironwood: Before Mantle was nearly destroyed, and myself and my army were left exhausted.

He lashed out, hitting Watts' bag off of his desk. He took a moment to calm down and set his gun on the desk.

Ironwood: The timeline has changed. And so we must change accordingly.

He picked up the queen chess piece. Harriet stood at attention.

Harriet: What are our orders, sir?

Ironwood: We are going to take our plan for Amity Tower and apply it to the city of Atlas.

He crushed the chess piece in his hand, and Ruby jumped to her feet.

Ruby: What?

Ironwood dropped the shattered glass from his hand.

Ironwood: It was Oz's plan in a former life. But he didn't take it far enough.

Yang stood up.

Ironwood: If we harness the power of the Staff, and raise ourselves high into the atmosphere, the city's artificial climate will keep citizens and food supplies unharmed. Always out of reach of whatever Salem may try to send our way.

Blake's voice shook slightly from emotion.

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

Ironwood responded with far less emotion.

Ironwood: Yes... I would.

Ruby and Blake stared in shock, while Yang glared and Weiss was on the verge of tears.

Ironwood: We can't allow Salem to capture the Relics. This is our best chance at getting the Staff, the Lamp, and the Maiden as far away from her as possible.

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

While Ruby spoke, Ironwood picked his gun back up, holstered it, and walked over to her.

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

Blake: You're right. And I think the right thing to do would be to stand our ground.

Yang: Me too.

Weiss: Me too.

Ruby: Me too.

Ruby looked confidently at Ironwood and then looked over her shoulder at Vine and Marrow. Vine's expression showed no emotion, and Marrow was sadly looking away. Surprised, she turned to look at Elm and Harriet, who also showed no sign of siding with her.

Finally, she looked at (Y/N), who didn't seem to be paying much to the conversation, instead looking at his left hand, as it was shaking.

He sighed, clenching his fist, as he met her gaze, sadness in his eyes, when a steely gaze crossed through his vision.

Harriet: We ran ourselves ragged trying to save Mantle tonight. We try that again against an even larger force--

Yang: But you're Huntsmen and Huntresses! You can't just back down from a fight!

Vine: You can't focus on one single fight while trying to win a war.

Weiss: What's the council going to say?

Ironwood: Nothing. Once I declare Martial Law.

Weiss: No.

Blake: What about Robyn?

Elm: Who exactly are you loyal to?

Ruby: We're loyal to the people counting on us to save them!

Ironwood: We are saving who we can.

Ruby turned and looked at Ironwood, who looked at her with no visible emotion in his eyes.

Ironwood: And you're standing in our way.

Ruby, Weiss and Blake looked upset, and Yang glared daggers at him. Suddenly, Ruby's scroll flashed and vibrated. It then lit up with a ping noise and emitted Jaune's voice, causing Ruby to look at it.

Jaune: It's Jaune! We've got a serious problem!

Ruby's eyes widened. She looked at Ironwood, who furrowed his brows. Ruby gained a determined expression and reached for her scroll. Ironwood stepped toward her, bringing his hand out from behind his back, and Ruby used her semblance to split into two separate blurs and quickly fly past Ironwood. The blurs converged behind his desk and turned back into Ruby, who was holding her scroll with the group communications chat open.

Ruby: Ironwood's declaring Martial Law and abandoning Mantle! Salem is coming, and he's going to use the Staff to move Atlas. If we don't stop him, then Mantle's going to be des--

Jaune was listening in an Atlas Academy hallway that had red lights on. Winter and Penny were listening in the facility that Fria was held in. Qrow and Robyn were listening aboard the Manta transporting Tyrian. There was a beep, and Ruby's call was cut off. 

Qrow and Robyn glared at Clover who was sitting across from them. Clover looked surprised, and a bound and conscious Tyrian grinned at everyone. 

Ruby looked at her scroll, shocked. The communication symbol had turned red with a white slash across it, and the screen displayed the word "LOCKED".

Ruby: What? No!

She stood up from behind the desk and looked at Ironwood, who was holding his Scroll up. He put his scroll away and headed for the door.

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

Weiss and Blake glared at him, and Yang looked furious.

Ruby: We won't just let you take us.

Ironwood stopped in front of the door, and the Ace-Ops moved to stand between him and Team RWBY, staring at Ruby and her teammates. Ironwood glanced over his shoulder at them.

Ironwood: I know. (Y/N), if you're with us, then you should hurry.

Ruby: (Y/N)?

(Y/N) said nothing as Ironwood left his office, the doors closing behind him. 

In a hallway somewhere in Atlas Academy, Jaune was staring at his Scroll's screen, which displayed the red marked-out communication symbol and the word "LOCKED".

Jaune: Ruby, are you there? Ruby!

He frantically tapped on the screen and stopped when he heard Nora's voice in front of him.

Nora: Did you... tell them?

Jaune looked to his left into a dorm room. The walls were covered with black scorch marks, and multiple broken Atlesian Knight-200s were on the floor.

Jaune: Oscar, where are you...?

Long chapter.

Unanimous?

1. Side with Ironwood to make traversing Atlas, and obtaining your goals easier.

2. Side with the others, isolating yourself from Ironwood and Atlas as a whole.

Until next time!