This is it. The finale for Volume 8. This is where all the dominoes shall fall into place. It's gonna be a very long chapter, so I hope you're ready.
Warning:
Sadness and death will occur. You have been warned.
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*3rd Person POV*
A small Manta makes its way toward Atlas through a lightly Grimm-infested sky. Some of the ship's occupants (Jaune, Nora, and Ren) are visible and look uneasy. Just outside Atlas Academy, Vine, Harriet, and Elm look on as Ironwood readies a large handheld cannon, awaiting Penny's arrival. Winter arrives and stands by Ironwood's side as the Ace Ops leave to take care of something else.
Winter: "Sir, this course of action--"
Ironwood: "I hope you're not going to try to talk me out of it."
Winter turns to look Ironwood in the eye, her demeanor shifting to a resolute one.
Winter: "No, sir. I don't think that's possible."
With a whoosh, both are alerted to Penny's apparent approach, and they watch her touch down before them. Ironwood immediately levels his cannon at her. Its barrel glows a pale green as he charges it.
Ironwood: "I didn't think you'd actually come alone." He pauses to hand Winter a set of Gravity Bolas, then continues pointing his weapon at her.
Ironwood: "I expected at least some resistance from your friends."
Penny: "I don't want anyone else to die."
Winter steps forward, securing Penny's wrists with the bolas.
Penny: "I must open the Vault."
Winter steps back, drawing her saber and pointing it at Penny. Ironwood takes a deep breath and lowers his cannon, then moves forward to place a hand on Penny's shoulder.
Ironwood: "You've done the right thing."
Penny cocks an eyebrow, her voice suddenly deeper than usual.
Penny: "I have."
The image of Penny flickers and is replaced with Emerald. In the background, Oscar, Jaune, Ren, and Nora appear, weapons at the ready and poised to fight. A Manta is parked behind them.
Emerald: "Feels weird."
Ironwood only has enough time to widen his eyes in shock before Emerald's shoe connects with his chin. As he stumbles back, he drops his weapon. Emerald lands in a crouch, catches Ironwood's cannon, then uses her Semblance to disappear from view.
Jaune swings his sword at Ironwood, but the general dodges, grabbing his wrist. He lands a blow on Jaune's shield, and is blasted back by a wave of Gravity Dust. Oscar joins the fray, getting a few hits with The Long Memory in, but takes a hit to the stomach. One of Ren's grappling blades wraps around Ironwood's ankle, and he is pulled off his feet. Ren fires, but the general dodges, shaking off his tether. After a brief tussle, Ironwood sends Ren flying with a kick.
An ethereal glimmer is heard, and Ironwood looks skyward to find Nora being charged up by a lightning dust-infused Schnee glyph. Winter stands to the side, pointing her sword at Nora, clearly responsible for the glyph. Ironwood grimaces at the betrayal, then takes Nora's hammer to the face, tumbling bodily on the ground.
Winter and Oscar charge at Ironwood atop a Manticore summon, courtesy of the former. 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 Oscar presses on. However, the general catches his cane and prepares to attack with his free hand. Then, moving too fast for him to react, Winter slashes him across the chest with her sword, causing his Aura to dissipate. Ironwood's eyes roll into the back of his head, and he collapses.
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."
Oscar, Jaune, Nora, Ren, and Emerald hurry into the academy.
*Flashback*
Teams RWBY, AVRN, JNR, and Penny sit together on the ground in front of Schnee manor. Emerald and Oscar stand behind Jaune.
Jaune: "We've been so worried about keeping the Vault closed that we never considered using what's inside."
Oscar: "The Staff of Creation."
Ruby: "Maybe we could use it to save Penny and get everyone in Atlas and Mantle back to safety."
Willow, Whitley and Klein are seen standing in the manor's entrance as Weiss's Scroll beeps. Weiss checks on her Scroll.
Weiss: "Well, you'll never guess who I just heard from."
The group has reconvened in the manor's dining room. Jaune has a hand on Penny's shoulder and is staving off the virus by boosting her Aura.
Azure: "So we've got people trapped in Atlas and Mantle that we can't evacuate unless we use the Staff which is located inside the Vault."
Rosa: "If we open the Vault, Penny terminates. If Ironwood gets wind of any of this, he blows up Mantle."
Vert: "There's something else to consider. Once the Staff creates anything else, the city drops."
Nero: "Atlas has enough natural Gravity Dust to keep it from plummeting immediately, but, well, nobody's going to want to be around when it touches down."
Jaune stops using his Semblance.
Jaune: "Okay, then let's use the Staff to teleport everyone to safety. Maybe even to another Kingdom."
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: "Who?"
Oscar's eyes glow as control of his body is switched to Ozpin.
Ozpin: "The spirit in the Staff. Like Jinn, but, well, he's a character. He can build you anything, but only if you can explain to him how. Like any craftsman, he'll need blueprints. Some sort of reference. It'll help if we have real world examples to show him."
Whitley: "I've already gone through the city layouts for the SDC evacuation. Maybe I can help?"
Ozpin, Weiss and Ruby smile at Whitley. Ozpin drops his gaze and frowns.
Ozpin: "There's still James and his bomb to consider."
Weiss: "Oh, I've got a plan for that." She catches Emerald's eye, who perks up in surprise.
Blake: "So, that takes care of phase one."
Ruby: "Meanwhile, the real Penny goes to the Vault, with help."
Oscar: "I blasted a hole through the bottom of Atlas and I highly doubt they've had time for repairs. That should take you straight to it. All of that is the easy part."
Azure: "As soon as Penny opens the door, we go through, grab the Staff, and stop her termination."
*End of Flashback*
A Manta haphazardly drifts up to a large hole in the base of Atlas' floating landmass. The door on the side of the ship opens, revealing a grimacing Penny being supported by Blake and Yang. Ruby and Azure cast Penny worried looks. Nero, Vert and Rosa steady themselves for what happens next. Weiss gives a thumbs-up to Klein who is in the pilot's seat. Klein returns the gesture as her mother and brother look on.
Ruby uses her Semblance to carry Penny, her team and Azure's team through the hole and up the shaft to the landing in front of the Atlas Vault. As they approach it, the steps leading up to it move into place, reacting to their presence.
Weiss and Vert stand guard with Myrtenaster and Jade Lancer respectively as the others kneel by the Vault door. Yang has a steadying hand on Penny's shoulder.
Yang: "Just hang in there, Penny. Okay?"
Penny's Maiden's eye-flames flare weakly as she clutches her head, but she nods. As she reaches for the door, her eye-flames flare up to their usual strength. On making contact, the door's engravings glow ice-blue. The Vault door comes down piece-by-piece, and Ruby is in motion before it opens all the way. She picks up both teams in a burst of rose petals, hurrying into the grassy area in the Vault. She deposits them on a stone platform and rushes forward to grab the Staff.
As this happens, time slows to crawl and eventually stops. Cyan smoke billows from the jewel topping the staff as Team RWBY and AVRN look on in awe. A muscular, blue-skinned figure takes form before them and flexes gratefully.
Spirit: "Ah! It seems someone has come to engage my creative wiles! All I'll say is it had better be worth it after my last project."
The figure crosses his arms. His disdain is evident.
Spirit: "A floating city?" He scoffs. "How pedestrian."
Ruby steps forward, the Staff still in her hands.
Ruby: "Hi, um, Mr. Ambrosius? Sir, listen, it's about our friend. She's... She's dying." She turns to look at Penny as Ambrosius inspects his nails, unconcerned.
Ambrosius: "I'm going to go ahead and assume that you know it's against the rules for me to bring people back from dead so..."
Azure steps forward this time.
Azure: "That's not what we want. She's not your typical girl."
Ambrosius looks up, and he rushes over to the Vault door. With a snap of his fingers, he conjures what looks like a jeweler's magnifying glass, and inspects Penny.
Ambrosius: "So she isn't! I'd love to meet whoever did this. Ah, I see." He flies back into the Vault to rejoin the girls and boys. "There's something eating away at her. I'm guessing you think you have some clever plan to save her. Just know, I will give you exactly what you ask for and I don't want any complaining when it's not what you wanted."
Ruby, Azure and Weiss exchange meaningful looks, and the latter pulls out her scroll, projecting a hologram of Penny's blueprints for Ambrosius to see. The spirit is immediately engrossed in them.
Ruby: "We brought her schematics. We want you to make a new version of her using her exact same robot parts."
Ambrosius frowns, peering over the hologram at Ruby.
Ambrosius: "That was curiously worded, girl."
Azure: "An exact copy of her would include the virus. An exact copy of her without the virus would cease to exist the second you make something else, and we kind of want to keep her around longer than that."
Ambrosius: (chuckling) "You've done your homework."
Ruby: "We want you to create a new version of her, using her existing robotic parts taking the virus with them."
Ambrosius forms a steeple with his fingers, deep in thought. He twirls in the air away from the girls to make a series of complex hand gestures, apparently doing some difficult calculations. Weiss stops projecting the hologram and Team RWBY looks at its leader, who can only shrug. When Team AVRN looks at their leader, he shrugs as well.
Ambrosius: "Okay, but if I take the robot parts out of her, that would leave..."
Blake: "Penny. The girl who's always been there underneath it."
Ambrosius: "Hmm..."
Vert: "You can't destroy, it's against the rules. But you wouldn't be destroying her. Her soul is who she is."
Yang flexes her arm, drawing attention to her prosthesis.
Yang: "The mechanical parts are just... extra."
Ambrosius turns back to the group, frantically gesturing as he speaks.
Ambrosius: "But a soul without a complete body, what would be left?"
Rosa: "I don't know. I guess you just have to... get creative."
Excited, he flies here and there, doing calculations, clearly lost in thought.
Ambrosius: (laughing) "I suppose I could do a little... Oh, add a touch of... But if I do that, how much of the old Penny would be my work and how much would be her? Just coming up to the surface."
He returns to the two teams, amusement on his face.
Ambrosius: "This is all very exciting." He sighs. "And very dangerous. I don't know what the results are going to be."
Weiss: "We don't have any other options. We believe in her."
Nero: "We believe in Penny."
Ambrosius: "Then ready yourselves, to witness my artistry!"
He makes an expansive gesture, before making some hand movements, a bright glow emanating from them. A stream of sparks and mist moves toward Penny and snakes around her, lifting her into the air. As time resumes for her, she blinks and the red glow of the virus disappears from her eyes. She glows brightly, causing Team RWBY and AVRN to shield their eyes. Her extremities shimmer, and when Ambrosius gives a final snap of his fingers, two identical Pennys stand beyond the vault's threshold.
Ambrosius: "It's done!"
With a cheeky look and a wink, he disappears in a puff of cyan smoke.
Team RWBY and AVRN approach the two Pennys. One takes on her usual appearance while the other, the real girl, has no leggings or gloves, showing that her robot parts have been replaced with human skin.
Azure: "Penny?"
The real Penny blinks tentatively, and opens her eyes. She raises her hand to inspect it, then catches sight of the robotic copy next to her. It sparks and crackles in a clumsy, soulless attempt to move toward her, then falls to its knees. It clutches its head and convulses on the floor, its red eyes changing in size wildly before finally clanking to a halt, its eyes turning a lifeless grey. Penny looks horrified at the sight, and Ruby puts a hand on her shoulder.
Ruby: "Are you okay?"
Penny looks at the hand on her shoulder then back at Ruby, and smiles. She embraces Ruby's midsection, and the light coming out of the vault illuminates her face.
Penny: "Do hugs always make you feel this warm inside?"
Ruby: "Yes." She slowly returns the embrace, smiling.
Penny: "Wow! More!"
Penny lunges at Azure as well, wrapping him in a hug. The newly-made girl's eyes glint as she catches sight of Blake and Yang, whom she promptly hugs as well. She also goes and happily hugs Vert, Rosa and Vert.
Weiss: "We should probably make sure our theory works. And start the evacuation."
Penny stands by Ruby's side as Weiss twirls the Staff in her hands. Ambrosius appears in a puff of smoke, stretching in relief.
Ambrosius: "Ah! Free to create and..." His expression falls. "Oh, it's you guys again."
Weiss: "We're not done with you yet."
Ambrosius: "Ugh, fine!"
As he crosses his arms and looks away, Rosa steps forward.
Rosa: "Let's try the quick version. Can you make a bunch of doorways in Atlas that open at a single spot in Vacuo?"
Ambrosius: "Sure! I'll just need coordinates and specs for each door, an explanation for bending space and time to account for the much greater traffic on one side and the single point of exit on the other."
Ruby, Penny, Azure and Rosa look confused and concerned respectively. Weiss clutches her forehead in irritation.
Weiss: "Okay, that's about what we expected."
Nero: "So, we need to funnel everybody through a central location first."
Ambrosius: "You're going to have to tell me more about this central location. For starters, uh, 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."
Vert: "Seems like a safe enough place for thousands of refugees to pass through."
Ambrosius chuckles, amused.
Ambrosius: "You kids are either smart or much more foolish than you realize." He sighs. "I'm going to need a reference?"
Weiss: "Oh, we've got one." She pulls out her Scroll again and projects for Ambrosius schematics of the Snow Shoe Shipping pneumatic tube delivery system, as well as the Atlesian Military Compound where all the tubes connect.
Weiss: "People enter from Atlas and Mantle on one side... and leave on the other side, with a one-way ticket to Vacuo."
Ambrosius smiles and concentrates briefly before making some more complex hand gestures. In the doorway to the Vault appears a glowing blue portal bordered by a yellow frame. Similar portals open up all across Atlas and Mantle as well.
Ambrosius: "Well, everything appears to be in order. You were quite thorough, disappointingly so." He lazily settles into a reclined position midair, putting his feet up.
Weiss: "So, it's done?"
Ambrosius: "Yeah." He waves the group away, apparently bored.
The group of nine trade looks of contentment before heading out of the Vault. Penny pauses to watch her dead robotic copy disintegrate before moving on.
Ambrosius: "Oh, and one last point of clarification about this central location of yours." He faces them with a serious expression on his face.
Ambrosius: "Do not fall."
The girls and guys look uneasily at each other.
Ambrosius: "Okay, and with that dire warning--" He takes a bow and disappears in a puff of smoke again.
Penny stands before the portal, looking at her hands in disbelief before receiving the Staff from Weiss.
Weiss: "We did it!"
The Staff collapses into a more portable form in Penny's hands.
Penny: "What now?"
Ruby: "We go to Vacuo, all of us, and hope that we've thought of everything."
Elsewhere in the Atlas subway, a cloaked Cinder and Quintessa appear among the anxious refugees. Cinder turns to face the portal with a dark grin, while Quintessa looks at the portal with a stern expression on her face.
Hovering on green flames, Penny comes through a portal, the Relic of Creation clutched in her hands, followed by Ruby, Weiss, Blake, Yang, Azure, Vert, Rosa and Nero. They stare in awe at the bizarre world around them, and Ruby catches sight of a newly-entered Fiona waving at her. As citizens from all around the cities pour in, Jaune and Nora's voices can be heard.
Jaune: "Keep moving, come on."
Nora: "That's it, watch your step!" She takes off on her hammer again, zooming past Joanna trying to keep order on her platform.
Joanna: "Hey, no pushing."
Nora passes a beaming May as well.
May: "Figured you wouldn't let us down!"
The first citizens have begun to reach the central platform in front of the portal that leads to Vacuo. Penny, Team RWBY and Team AVRN slowly move onward.
Weiss: "I thought there'd be more people by now."
Ruby: "Our job is getting Penny and the Staff to Vacuo. Until then, we have to trust the others. I'm sure they can handle it."
Meanwhile, Ren, Emerald and Oscar are mere steps away from the Vacuo portal.
Oscar: "We should end up just outside the city limits of Vacuo. Enough space for refugees but still within range of communication."
Ren: "All right, I'll focus on masking emotions for as long as I can. Call for help as soon as we cross."
The three move through the portal, only to be brought to their knees by a whirling sandstorm. They shield their eyes as they get back up.
Emerald: "You've gotta be kidding me."
Ren: "Which way is the city?"
Oscar: "It has to be here somewhere!"
Emerald consults her Scroll.
Emerald: "Guys, the sandstorm isn't just killing visibility."
As she holds it up for the other two to see, the words 'NO SIGNAL' are prominently displayed on its screen. The portal rumbles, and the first few citizens come through, wincing and groaning at the sudden harsh weather.
Citizen: "Where are we?"
The three teens grimly turn to face the bewildered refugees.
Ren: "Welcome to Vacuo."
On the other side, Nora is herding people across the pocket dimension.
Nora: "Head down and follow everyone else to the exit."
As she takes off on her hammer again, a cloaked figure steps into view, smirking ominously. Moments later, a huge explosion sends several citizens rocketing off their platform and into the void. May stares at them from a distant platform, horrified, as the crowd panics and scrambles behind her. Team RWBY and AVRN, almost reaching the Vacuo portal, hear the commotion, and Ruby heads back to deal with the disturbance.
Ruby: "No!"
Azure: "Come on, we need to help her."
Azure goes ahead, while his team follows behind him. Blake stops to reassure a startled Penny before following the rest of her team to join their leader.
Rosa: "Keep going, we'll handle this."
Penny is left clutching the Staff anxiously. Cinder propels herself into the air with her flames and spots Team RWBY and Team AVRN making their way up to a large platform. She quickly jets off in that direction. Ruby uses her Semblance to cover the distance quicker, only to recoil, grunting, at the wall of flames that suddenly appears to block her path. Both teams raises their weapons, ready to fight.
Cinder: "Your little friend Oscar was right, but the easy part ends here."
All eight of them exchange puzzled looks, uncertain of how Cinder knew about their plans. The Fall Maiden mockingly voices the question in their minds.
Cinder: "How'd you know about that?"
*Flashback*
Watts: "Neopolitan and Quintessa, was it? Now isn't the time to hold grudges."
Cinder steps in front of him, holding up her Grimm arm to quiet him.
Cinder: "No, they're right to be angry. I know I haven't upheld my end of the bargain. I'm... sorry." She places a hand over her chest, appearing to be remorseful. Neo narrows her eyes, but lowers her umbrella, crossing her arms. Quintessa focuses on Cinder as she also crosses her arms.
Cinder: "I will get you Ruby Rose today." She said to Neo, then looks at Quintessa. "And I will get you Azure (L/N) as well. But to do that, I need to ask the Lamp a question." She holds out her hand expectantly toward Neo as Watts rolls his eyes and sighs.
After a pause, Neo takes her former employer's bowler hat from her head and produces the Relic of Knowledge from inside it. It quickly grows to its full size as she redons her hat. With a satisfied smirk, Cinder steps forward, grabbing the Lamp's handle loop. After a tense moment of hesitation, Neo lets go.
Quintessa: "Now then, say her name."
Cinder holds the Lamp in front of her and opens her mouth.
Cinder: "Jinn."
And with that, Jinn has been summoned. The spirit has one eyebrow cocked as she regards the quartet.
Jinn: "You have a question for me?"
Cinder: "I do."
As she steps forward, Watts stares slack-jawed at Jinn while Neo and Quintessa fix their gazes on Cinder.
Cinder: "What have Ruby, Azure and their teammates planned?"
Jinn's eyes widen momentarily, before she furrows her brow in regret. Then, in a swirl of cyan smoke, the alleyway is replaced by a viewing of the group's discussions at Schnee Manor. Cinder walks around the group with a self-satisfied smile, but her expression falls upon catching sight of Emerald.
*End of Flashback*
Undeterred, the five girls and three guys charge forward to confront her. Suddenly, Cinder grins as dark purple lightning strikes near them as a familiar voice could be heard laughing. Quintessa walks right in front of the group.
Quintessa: "Now this could be fun, but unfortunately, I have a single goal in mind." She spots Azure among the group and points at him with her rapier, Silver Eternity. "Azure! I'm finally going to get you after what happened back at Haven and at Atlas!"
Azure: "You guys deal with Cinder! I'm going to stop Quintessa once and for all!" He takes two steps forward until Nero puts a hand on his shoulder.
Nero: "Let me help you."
Azure: "Nero..." He looks at Nero.
Nero: "I've got your back, bro."
Azure's eye widen in surprise at being called 'bro', but he smiles at Nero and nods his head.
Azure: "Alright then, let's do this, bro."
Azure and Nero turn to look forwards as Quintessa levitates towards another platform. Azure grabs Nero's right arm as he activates Incarnation and flies the both of them over to fight against Quintessa. They land and Azure deactivates Incarnation. They unsheathe their swords and stand face to face against Quintessa, who beckons the two boys to start. They rush towards her and the fight begins.
Azure starts by swinging his right sword at Quintessa, and she blocks it, but then gets hit by Nero's sword as he points it at her. Quintessa uses her Incarnation to boost her speed as she flies across the platform, slashing at the two guys as they try to hit her, but miss. Azure uses Lightning to gain an overall boost to his abilities, which allows him to be able to block Quintessa's attacks. Nero wasn't lucky as he got slashed multiple times by her rapier, making him kneel to the ground while his Aura flickers as he heals himself. Azure goes to shield him with his swords, but Quintessa sees this and stabs Azure's left arm. This makes him cry in pain as he drops his left sword to the ground. He drops to one knee, using his Aura to heal his wound, and he sees Quintessa walking towards his sword on the ground. She grabs it and throws it away, and Azure watches as it disappears into the void. Quintessa turns around and charges at him as Azure locks his only sword with her rapier.
Meanwhile, Team RWBY along with Vert and Rosa are in a heated battle with Cinder, but they aren't having much luck. Cinder stabs her swords into the ground, boosting herself upwards on a vortex of flame.
Cinder: "I knew your plan would be bold, but I never could have predicted all of this... At least, not without a little help from Jinn. I suppose I have all of you to thank for one last lesson."
A citizen with short brown hair walks unhurriedly into view, in contrast to the panicking crowds around her. She carries a briefcase and the Relic of Knowledge swings on her hip. Ruby focuses on Cinder, her Silver Eyes beginning to glow.
Cinder: "Sometimes, if you want to win--"
The suspicious lady reveals her eyes of mismatched colors. Yang notices her slowly approaching.
Cinder: "...You simply can't do it alone."
The briefcase shimmers and morphs into an umbrella, and a disguised Neo draws her hidden blade, charging at an oblivious Ruby.
Yang: "Ruby!"
Yang's hair ignites and her eyes turn red as she uses her gauntlets' recoil to hurl herself forward, knocking Ruby out of the way, only to bear the brunt of Neo's slash. With a scream, her Aura immediately dissipates, and she is thrown backward, tumbling bodily over the platform they are all standing on. Neo grimaces in frustration. Weiss, Ruby, Vert and Rosa can only stare in shock while Blake hurries over.
Yang seems to regain consciousness, cracking open her eyelids as Blake throws her blade, but her weapon runs out of ribbon before it can reach Yang. The girl with the golden hair plummets past platforms and walkways into the darkness, where her image seems to shimmer and dissolve before disappearing completely. Blake watches her, ears drooping and tears trickling down her cheeks.
Blake: "YANG!!!"
Azure pushes Quintessa away just as he looks to see Yang falling into the abyss and disappearing, followed by Blake screaming her name. He and Nero stared in disbelief as Quintessa chuckled behind them.
Nero: "No... Yang..."
Quintessa: "Looks like there's one less teammate to worry about for Cinder and Neo."
Azure: "Neo's here as well? ...I need to end this, quickly." He activates Incarnation and turns around to charge at Quintessa alongside Nero, who looked angry.
Penny, who was about to enter the Vacuo portal, heard Blake's anguished scream, and casts a worried look back. Then she turns her back to the portal, her Maiden flames flaring up. Ruby gets to her feet, shellshocked.
Ruby: "Yang...?"
Neo, still hungry for blood, engages her in battle again as Blake desperately reaches into the air where Yang was last seen. Weiss and Rosa hold her back from leaning too far, and Blake takes her head in her hands, weeping. Then her ears folded back in rage, she grabs her weapon and heads in Neo's direction. Weiss and Rosa watch her go, then catch sight of an amused Cinder. Vert activates his Semblance as he floats in the air, swinging his polearm around. Rosa and Weiss stand up with their weapons and Semblances activated as well.
Ruby does all she can to deflect Neo's strikes. When she pulls back her umbrella, Blake's weapon tethers her arm, preventing her attack. Yelling in fury, Blake lands a blow with her sheath, only to shatter one of Neo's solid illusions. Growling in indignation, she locates the real Neo and charges forward. Meanwhile, Cinder throws fiery projectiles at Weiss, who dodges and blocks them with her glyphs. Rosa sends blue fire attacks at Cinder while Vert shoots at her with his sniper. Cinder flies around, dodging their attacks.
Penny: "Why'd you have to come back?"
A figure emitting green flames suddenly appears. Weiss reaches out to her.
Weiss: "Penny, no!"
Penny: "Why didn't you just learn your lesson?"
Cinder turns, smirking, but takes a heavy blow from Penny, and is knocked back. She quickly rights herself and summons another blade, tweaking her nose cockily.
Cinder: "Oh, Penny..."
Penny frowns, making an expansive gesture as if to manipulate her floating swords, but she gasps and looks at her back, realizing her robotic parts are gone - including her signature weapons.
Cinder: "I did."
Penny turns back to face Cinder, but takes a flaming projectile to her chest, getting launched backward. She lands on a crouch on the central platform, then uses her Maiden power to replicate her floating swords. As Penny plunges headfirst into battle with Cinder, Weiss heads for higher ground, using her glyphs to augment her speed. Rosa and Vert follow her and use their Semblances to boost their speed. Penny is blasted away by a wave of fire, and Cinder attempts to fly after her, only to be pulled back by one of Weiss' glyphs. Cinder disables it with a burst of flame before turning her attention to Weiss, Vert and Rosa.
She conjures a barrage of obsidian projectiles, causing Weiss to falter as she catches sight of the citizens pouring in from the portals around her. She quickly summons her Arma Gigas' sword to block the projectiles as Cinder sends them her way. Vert uses his wind to make some fly past them and Rosa destroys some with her axe, but some get through, embedding themselves in the platform around their feet, and some travelling through the portal behind them. Jaune, who is on the other side, quickly raises his shield to try and protect the citizens, and casts a worried look at the portal.
Weiss, panting from her exertion, doesn't notice the glass projectiles glowing until they are about to detonate. Vert sees this and pushes Rosa out of the way as Weiss and him are catapulted skyward in an explosion of flame. Vert activates his Semblance to stop his fall and Weiss cushions her fall with a black glyph. It's clear the battle is taking a toll on Weiss' endurance. Cinder and Penny reengage in battle as Ruby and Blake keep the pressure on Neo. Blake stops her advance when she hears Penny scream, and takes a moment to watch the Maidens' fight. She also catches sight of Weiss' predicament, along with Vert and Rosa's growing exhaustions, and seems conflicted on which battle to choose.
Meanwhile, Nero clashes against Quintessa as she parries his attacks and pushes him back with a few Incarnate Attacks. She goes to swing her rapier at him, but gets blocked by a golden force field that shields Nero. Azure appears and swings his sword at Quintessa, who backs away. Azure takes down the force field and looks over to his partner.
Azure: "You okay, Nero?"
Nero: "I'm good. I just need a few seconds to activate Permafrost Subzero."
Azure: (nods) "Leave it to me."
Azure blitz over and fights against Quintessa. While this happens, Nero stabs his sword to the platform and encases himself in ice. After a few seconds, the ice breaks and Nero is now in his other form. He quickly goes over and slashes Quintessa away, who glares at him as her Aura flickers. Azure goes to strike her, but she holds her finger out and hits a vital point using an Incarnate Attack, knocking him out. Quintessa then launches him away to another platform.
Nero's wolf ears lower in anger as he charges straight at Quintessa. He freezes the ground around them along with Quintessa's feet, but she breaks free and floats up in the air. Parts of her arms and legs turn to dust as she creates a large fireball. Quintessa throws it at Nero as he creates an ice wall to protect himself. The ice and fire clash, creating an area of mist that keeps Nero, whose Aura flickered, from seeing where Quintessa was. An ice attack goes to hit him from his right, but Nero blocks it. A lightning attack was next, and he sends an ice wave at it and stops it. The mist dissipates and Nero doesn't see Quintessa. A bright orange light shines above him and he looks up to see another fireball thrown at him, enhanced by wind. Nero goes to destroy it with his ice sword, but Quintessa fires lightning at the fireball, causing it to explode with lots of force. This sends Nero rolling backwards as he finally stops, his Aura breaking in the process. Quintessa floats back down in front of him as Nero weakly gets up and holds his sword up in defense. Quintessa smiles as she raises her rapier up.
Over with Azure, he finally regains consciousness, only to witness something tragic: Quintessa slashing Nero across his chest while also slashing through his sword, breaking it in half. Nero falls down to the floor, with his broken sword clanging next to him. Blood starts to appear over Nero, the white of his coat and the ice on him now being stained red. Azure saw this with wide eyes and screamed his partner's name out.
Azure: "NERO!!!"
Over by the portal on Vacuo's side, a crowd of refugees wait out the sandstorm, their emotions masked by Ren's semblance. However, his Aura quickly depletes and dissipates, leaving him panting.
Ren: "I'm spent."
Emerald peers through the sand in the portal's direction, then at Oscar.
Emerald: "Where's Penny? Couldn't she deal with this storm?"
Oscar: "Wait, Penny should've been here by now. Something's wrong." He jogs back to the portal, but is thrown back upon contact, leaving him sprawled on the sand.
Oscar: "What? Why can't I--"
The voice of Ozpin rings in his head.
Ozpin: (mentally) "Oh, dear... Ambrosius."
A look of realization dawns on Oscar's face. A flashback is shown depicting Team RWBY, Team AVRN and a newly-made Penny in the Atlas Vault, discussing the specifics of the portal network that would lead the refugees to Vacuo. Ambrosius stares at the projected schematics and executes complex hand gestures as Weiss speaks.
Weiss (Past): "People enter from Atlas and Mantle from one side, and leave on the other side, with a one-way ticket to Vacuo."
In the present, Oscar runs to rejoin his two comrades.
Oscar: "We can't go back, the portal won't let us."
A sudden unearthly scream is heard in the distance, and from the sandstorm comes a flock of shrieking Ravagers. One refugee is promptly seized in the claws of a Ravager; several others scream and run away through the crowd. Ren, Emerald, and Oscar trade worried looks before readying their weapons.
In the pocket dimension, Cinder and Penny fly at each other, using their respective Maiden powers to clash. They fly around as people continue to run towards the portal leading to Vacuo. Cinder launches a fireball, hitting Penny in the back. She then tries to use her Grimm arm to grab Penny, but a Queen Lancer summoned by Weiss is shown to fly by and get Penny out of the way. Nora watches the crowd of people running for the Vacuo portal.
Jaune: "Priority one."
Nora looks back to her leader and they exchange nods, continuing with the evacuation.
Back on the Queen Lancer summon...
Penny: "Weiss, all she ever wanted was the Maiden power. I can buy you all time."
Weiss: "But, Penny..."
Suddenly, Weiss is struck in the back by a fireball, causing her Queen Lancer summon to disappear. They fall onto one of the platforms, where Vert and Rosa were, and both of their Auras flicker. Cinder lands nearby and smirks evilly. Penny gasps as Cinder looks to Weiss, the Staff of Creation next to her. Penny suddenly gets up and blocks her path.
Penny: "I'm right here! I'm what you want!"
Cinder: "I want it all..."
Cinder launches herself forward, but suddenly is kicked in the face by Blake, pushed back some distance away from them. Blake then looks to Weiss.
Blake: "Get up!"
Weiss does so, grabbing Myrtenaster and the Staff. She then runs off as Blake, Penny, Vert and Rosa face Cinder, their weapons at the ready. Ruby continues to fight Neo. Neo eventually kicks Ruby to the ground, causing her Aura to flicker. Neo slowly approaches Ruby threateningly.
Weiss: "Leave her alone!"
Weiss slides in using her glyphs, using the Staff to knock Neo through a portal. Cinder notices this, and angrily launches flame torrents to hold back Penny, Blake, Vert and Rosa. Cinder than kicks Blake and Rosa off the platform.
Penny: "Blake!" She flies towards Blake.
Vert: "Rosa!" He flies over to Rosa with his Semblance.
Meanwhile, Azure flies over to Nero, rushing past Quintessa, who just stands there watching. Azure gets to Nero and drops his sword to the ground, seeing Nero bleeding from his chest. Azure takes off his black coat from beneath his cloak and kneels next to Nero, putting pressure on the wound to try and stop the bleeding.
Nero: "Azure..."
Azure: "Don't talk and let me heal you!" He tries to concentrate as his eyes flicker between silver and gold.
Nero: "...Hey, look at me." Azure stops and turns his head to him. He shakes his head. "It's no use. Without my own Aura, I'll probably die in a few minutes. But before I do..."
He grabs the handle of the broken Silver Ice Sword and stabs it into the pool of blood around him. He activates his Semblance and starts to slowly lift his sword, the blood freezing and attaching itself to form the rest of the blade. After a few seconds, the sword was repaired. Azure couldn't believe his eyes on the red sword that Nero was now holding.
Nero: "Use this... the Blood Ice Sword." He hands the sword to Azure, who holds it with his left hand. "You can do it, Azure." He weakly smiles. "I just know it."
Azure slowly nods and starts to get up, grabbing Blue Flash with his right hand. He fully stands up and turns around to face Quintessa with resolve and the two swords in his hands.
Quintessa: "As touching as that was, it's time to get to business. Azure, this will be the moment I get revenge for the death of my mother Quinella." Her body and eyes glowed purple.
Azure: "You're right. It's because of my uncle that your mother died, but it never had to end like this. Nero was just trying to keep his friends safe. And you struck him down. And for that..." His eyes finally turned golden. "...You need to pay for that."
Azure gains a serious expression on his face as he readies himself for their final duel.
Quintessa: "I don't care about that guy. I only care about taking you down!"
Quintessa flies over and swings her rapier down at Azure, who blocks her attack with both swords and deflects it away. She stumbles back as he charges at her with coordinated swings, making her unable to keep up with his strikes. Quintessa pushes him back with an Incarnate Attack and lifts her rapier in the air. Purple lightning covers her rapier as he points it at Azure as he runs towards her. Azure activates his Semblance and easily deflects her lightning strikes. He gets close to her and lands a hit on her with Nero's sword, leaving an ice slash on her body and causing her Aura to flicker.
Quintessa gets pushed back and shouts as she uses the Dust from her own body to create multiple fire, ice, wind, and lightning attacks around her. Azure calmly points Blue Flash at her, and she launches all of them at him. He gets rid of all the attacks with rapid swings from his swords and blitz past Quintessa, slashing her with a heavy blow with both swords, which shatters her Aura. This caused her Incarnation to disappear. Sensing this, she turns around to get Azure from behind, but he was already swinging his swords at her. He deflects and disarms her using Blue Flash, and finally, he plunges the Blood Ice Sword straight into her heart.
Quintessa stares at the sword in her chest in silent shock. She drops to her knees as Azure pulls the sword out and kneels in front of her.
Quintessa: "I guess... this is it..." She sees that her feet are slowly starting to turn to dust and break off. She lifts her head to stare at Azure. "What are you waiting for? Finish it. Just like how your precious uncle killed my dear mother." She closes her eyes, awaiting a quick death.
Suddenly, she heard swords clanging on the ground and felt someone put their arms around her. She opens her eyes to see that she was being hugged by Azure.
Quintessa: "Why... Why are you hugging me?! Don't you hate me for all that I did to you and your friends?! For what I did to your partner?!"
Azure: "To be honest with you, I never really hated you. When we first met in Haven, when you told me about how Uncle Kaz killed your mom, I felt sorry for you, and I understood why you were so angry with me. When we fought back then and clashed our weapons against each other, I could feel the sadness and loneliness that you hid inside of your heart. You must've been alone, with no one to keep you company, for all those years. And I'm sorry for that."
Quintessa was silent, but then starting sobbing into Azure's shoulder. He starts rubbing her back in comfort as she continued to cry. This lasts for a moment until Quintessa almost falls, and they see that her legs turned to dust and were blown away in the wind. Azure slowly lays Quintessa on her back as more of her body starts to turn to dust. She turns her head to the right as she looks away from Azure.
Quintessa: "...You're right. I've been alone for a couple of years. My mother was the only person I had in my life. When I saw her lifeless body in the forest, I cried for seven hours straight. I may have been created with an artificial body, but the sadness that I felt on that day was real. After that, I stayed in my room and never left. Since I wasn't human, I didn't need food or water to survive. It was terrible, but then Cinder found me and told me about your uncle, thus starting this rivalry of ours." She turns her head to look at Azure with a small smile on her face. "I'm also sorry for all that I've done, to you and to your friends. I truly am. If I could go back in time, I would try to be a better person."
Azure: "And if I could go back in time, I could try and persuade my uncle and your mother from killing each other. That way, you can live a normal life with your mother, and maybe enter Beacon Academy to become a Huntress. That way, we can meet and become friends." He smiled at her, which caused her to look at him with surprise, but then she smiled at him.
Quintessa: "Friends, huh... Yeah, I would like that. Um, is it too late to ask to be your friend?"
Azure: (chuckles) "What kind of question is that? Of course you can be my friend. And I can be your first friend."
Quintessa's arms and stomach turned to dust. They notice this.
Quintessa: "I guess this is farewell, Azure. Thank you for allowing me to come to terms with everything."
Her upper body turns to dust.
Quintessa: "And thank you for being my friend. Please tell Nero that I'm sorry for hurting him."
Azure: "Don't worry, I'll tell him. Goodbye, Tessa, my friend."
Quintessa: "Goodbye... Azure..." Her entire head turns to dust. She was now gone. Tears start to stream down his face as he holds some of the dust that used to be Quintessa. He lets the dust go and turns around, picking up the two swords, sheathing them, and running back to Nero, who was still alive.
Azure: "Nero, please stay with me. I'm going to use my Aura to heal you." He starts to use Incarnation to try and heal his wound.
Nero: (weakly) "Hey, Azure... What happened?"
Azure: "Quintessa... She's... she's dead. But before she left, we finally reconciled our differences... and she's also sorry for what she did to you."
Nero: (weakly) "...I see... I forgive her. I can understand why she was like that. And I'm glad she's at peace with herself."
Nero: (weakly) "Azure, if I die... I want you to know... that you were a fantastic leader, a great friend... and I'm glad that you're my brother. Thank you. You and the others changed my life forever, and it's been a fun ride." He starts to cough. "No matter what happens next, never give up hope. Keep your head and your spirits up. It's the only way to live a meaningful life."
Nero: (weakly) "You are... my hero..."
Azure starts to cry even more from hearing this.
Meanwhile, Weiss helps Ruby back up.
Weiss: "Come on, we have to do this for Yang."
Cinder smirks. The ground begins to glow beneath Ruby and Weiss. The latter notices this and pushes Ruby back, simultaneously shoving the Staff into her hands.
Ruby: "No!"
An explosion goes off, knocking Ruby back. Weiss is launched up into the air before landing hard on the ground, her Aura breaking in the process. Suddenly, Neo reappears. She trades blows with Ruby, managing to snatch away the Staff as she knocks her off the platform. Ruby manages to land on one of the walkways, but helplessly watches Crescent Rose slide over the edge.
Ruby: "No!!"
Ruby watches her weapon fall into the abyss. She looks back to Neo, who glares back at her.
Ruby: "Whatever you wanted..."
Ruby looks over her shoulder as she nears the edge of the walkway, before facing Neo again.
Ruby: "I hope it was worth it."
Ruby spreads her arms wide, offering herself as a target. Neo extends Hush's blade as she prepares to go for the kill. She lunges, but Ruby deliberately falls backward before the blade can hit her; she then uses her Semblance to circle under the path, come up behind Neo and knock her over the edge, disarming her in the process. Ruby tries to catch the Staff, but Cinder launches a fire blast into her back, breaking her Aura and knocking her off the path. Ruby catches onto Neo's ankle, the former hanging from the edge of the path. Cinder grabs the Staff and approaches them. Neo reaches out to her, but Cinder's Grimm arm reaches past, grabbing the Lamp from Neo's belt.
Cinder: "You should have never threatened me..."
Neo looks up at her in anger as Cinder kicks Hush over the edge, into the abyss. Cinder's smirk turns to a glare as she looks from Neo to Ruby.
Cinder: "And you..." Ruby tries to activate her Silver Eyes. "...should have never been born."
Cinder uses the Staff to smash Neo's hand, causing her to lose her grip and fall. Ruby starts to fall with her.
Blake & Penny: "RUBY!!!"
Penny flies in carrying Blake. Blake is thrown forward as Penny is knocked back by Cinder's fireball. Blake manages to grab Ruby. She uses Gambol Shroud to hook onto the platform. The two try to swing back up, but Cinder launches another fire jet that burns through Gambol Shroud's ribbon. Ruby and Blake fall and disappear into the abyss. Penny looks on, distraught.
Penny: "No!"
Azure turns around and looks to see Ruby and Blake falling. He runs to the edge of the platform and reaches out to his love.
Azure: "RUBY!!!"
He lowers his head and silently mourns for Ruby, but then...
Nero: (quietly) "A... Azure..."
Azure, with tears running down his face, slowly turns to look at Nero, who reached out his hand towards him. Suddenly, an obsidian spear strikes Nero in the chest, killing him. His body glows orange, and then he turns to dust as it gets blown away by the arrival of a grinning Cinder.
Cinder: "Does it feel familiar to you?" Azure didn't respond. "It was just like back then, with that girl... Hmm... What was her name again?... Oh! Right. Pyrrha." Azure flinched at the mention of her name. "That girl failed to stop me, and your little girlfriend... She suffered the same fate as her."
Azure: (angrily) "Don't you dare say that about them!"
Azure unsheathe both swords, but then notices that Nero's sword was now broken again. He rushed at her with blinding rage as she dodged and deflected all of his attacks. She conjures up two obsidian daggers and uses one to disarm Azure's left hand, making him drop the broken Silver Ice Sword into the abyss. He then gets hit by the other dagger, sending him to the edge of the platform. Cinder walks up to him and holds out her right hand out.
Cinder: "Just like I told your little girlfriend, you should have never been born."
Cinder creates a fire jet and throws it at Azure, who gets hit and it breaks his Aura as he falls off of the platform. Azure looks up at Cinder, unable to do anything as he continues falling down.
Azure: (mentally) "I'm sorry, everyone. I failed... I couldn't save everyone..." He starts thinking about the people he cares about. "Jaune, Ren, Nora, Qrow, Oscar, Yang, Weiss, Blake, Vert, Rosa, Grandma, Penny, Pyrrha, Quintessa, Mom, Dad, Uncle Kaz, Ruby, Nero..."
Azure: (mentally) "...I'm sorry..." He closes his eyes as he disappears into the void.
Meanwhile in Patch, Sapphire was at the house, drying a blue cup when she felt something bad happened that makes her drop the cup. When it shatters, she grips her shirt and covers her mouth as she starts crying. This was a familiar feeling that she sensed when Miguel didn't come back home. She hoped that something bad didn't happen to Azure as well.
Sapphire: "Azure... Please be safe..."
Back in the pocket dimension, Vert and Rosa witness Azure falling and start crying as they land back on a platform. They activate their Semblances at their strongest as they fly over to Cinder and start attacking her. Cinder uses her swords and launches them at Rosa and Vert, who deflect them away. Vert flies over and swings his polearm wildly at Cinder, who dodges and grabs the weapon. She tosses Vert down to the platform just as Rosa came in flying with blue flames covering her. She aims her shotgun-axe and fires, but Cinder created a fire wall to protect herself. Rosa swings her blue fire axe at Cinder, who stops the strike with her Grimm hand.
Cinder: "Your fire is nothing compared to mine!"
Cinder holds her other hand in front of Rosa's chest as she uses a fire jet at point-blank range. This hits Rosa, breaking her Aura as she falls down and goes unconscious. Vert flies over and catches her, but then gets hit from behind by an obsidian dagger, breaking his Aura as well.
Cinder: "The two of you shall be joining your friend as well. Goodbye."
Vert could do nothing but watch as he and Rosa fell down into the abyss. He holds her tightly and closes his eyes as they disappear. Cinder turns back and prepares to attack Penny again, but gets struck by Dust rounds.
Weiss: "Get back!!"
Weiss holds Gambol Shroud in its pistol form, firing shots at Cinder as tears stream down her face. Jaune parachutes to Nora.
Jaune: "May, Joanna, any Huntsmen that went through that gate, bring 'em here!"
They shake hands as Nora heads through the Vacuo portal. Weiss is seen getting knocked back as Cinder hovers above her.
Cinder: "It figures that a Schnee would be the last one standing, letting all her friends die first."
Cinder spews a fire breath attack, but Penny flies in and blocks the attack with her Maiden swords.
Penny: "You wouldn't know anything about friends..."
Cinder tries to attack again, but Jaune arrives and knocks her back using the gravity Dust in Crocea Mors' shield. Jaune, Penny, and Weiss, dual wielding Myrtenaster and Gambol Shroud's katana, ready themselves to face Cinder again. Cinder gets back up, but suddenly her Grimm arm starts to act up.
Cinder: "She's back..."
Cinder creates a shockwave to knock the trio of teens back, and then launches two flame swords that Penny blocks easily. Suddenly, Cinder creates flames in a V shape, separating Jaune, Penny and Weiss. Penny looks to her friends, but suddenly screams out in pain. She looks down and notices Cinder's Grimm arm impaling her chest and starting to drain her Maiden powers. Penny notices Weiss jumping in to fight Cinder again before falling over. She starts to lose consciousness from blood loss. Jaune comes into her view.
Jaune: "Penny! Hold on!" He activates his Semblance to boost Penny's Aura. "My Semblance--"
Penny: "No... there's not enough time to heal me..."
Jaune notices Weiss and Cinder still fighting behind him.
Penny: "She can't get the Staff and the power... but there is something you can do..."
Jaune was taken aback by this.
Jaune: "I don't know where the others are, but... Weiss will give us time!"
Penny: "Let me choose... this one thing... trust me...!"
As Weiss continue her battle, Jaune draws his sword, his tormented expression reflected on the blade. Cinder knocks away Gambol Shroud and Weiss watches it fall into the abyss, before being knocked to the ground by Cinder. Cinder prepares to finish Weiss, but freezes when she hears Jaune scream out in anguish, her expression shocked. Jaune is seen standing over Penny's body as his tears drip to the floor. Her blood drips from his crimson-stained blade.
Cinder angrily launches herself forward to Jaune. He pushes her back with gravity Dust. She conjures a flaming sword and charges Jaune again. Jaune extends Crocea Mors to parry her swing, but the force of Cinder's attack shatters his blade. Jaune looks at his broken weapon in shock, before he is knocked to the ground. Cinder advances on him, looking enraged.
Cinder: "Where did it go?!"
Suddenly, a blue blast hits Cinder. She angrily looks for where the blast came from, and sees Winter floating above her. The two Maidens clash in midair, exchanging blows of magic and swords. Winter activates a glyph summoning a flock of small Nevermores. Cinder conjures more flaming swords and launches them at the Summons, destroying some of them. However, the rest get through and surround Cinder, attacking her from all sides. Cinder creates a large fireball to free herself from the flock.
Meanwhile, Jaune helps Weiss get away from the battle toward the gate to Vacuo. As the Maidens clash again, Winter snatches the Staff away from Cinder, but is struck and drops it onto the path. Cinder notices Weiss and Jaune getting away, grins savagely, and launches a fireball at them. Jaune throws his Hard-Light shield grenade to block the attack but they are both knocked back. Horrified, Winter flies toward them at high speed as the ground under them begins to glow.
Winter: "No..."
Cinder balls her hand into a fist, causing the ground beneath Jaune and Weiss to explode. Jaune's Aura dissipates as Weiss is launched over the edge.
Winter: (voice breaking) "WEISS!!!"
Winter watches helplessly as her younger sister fall into the abyss. Jaune gets back up as Winter levitates onto the walkway. She falls to her knees and cries, slamming her fist on the ground in grief. Her eyes narrow in anger as she stares up at Cinder, who has retrieved the Staff. Suddenly, the pocket dimension shakes as an enraged female scream is heard, distracting all three of them.
Jaune: "We need to go... Now."
Winter glares at Cinder one last time.
Winter: "You... are going to pay... for everything you've done!"
Winter and Jaune begin to retreat, and Cinder does the same, now having both the Staff and Lamp in her possession. Cinder exits through one of the portals leading to Atlas, and the walkways start to disappear. Jaune runs as fast as he can to the Vacuo portal. Winter notices this and tries to turn back for him, but is unable to stop herself as she passes through the gate. Jaune tries to jump for it as the path gives way beneath him, but the portal disappears and he falls into the abyss as well.
In Vacuo, Nora desperately bangs on the portal, unable to go back through due to it being one way. Atlas and Mantle civilians scream as they are attacked by Ravagers. Emerald, Oscar, and Ren do their best to fight them off. The horde of Grimm approach them, but they get blown away. The trio and the civilians notice Winter, using her newly-christened Maiden powers to levitate in the air. She notices her mother Willow, her brother Whitley, and Klein in the crowd, and tears stream from her eyes. The roar of Grimm gets her attention. She notices the horde of Ravagers and Sulfur Fish approaching. Winter screams out and prepares to take them all on.
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, 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, his expression turning horrified when they don't respond. A large tidal wave appears and engulfs both Atlas and Mantle. The flood continues until both cities have been fully submerged underwater.
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Waves wash ashore along a beach. The area is tropical, birds and other creatures are heard making noises. At the top of a cliff, a large, mystical-looking tree overlooks everything around it. A washed up and dizzy Azure lifts his head up and looks at the scene ahead.
Azure: "What the..."
He falls unconscious.
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...That's the end of Volume 8 and the second half of the 'Atlas Arc'. Quintessa, Nero and Penny were unfortunately killed during these events. Let's pay respects for our fallen friends...
...Next up, the beginning of Volume 9.