Ruby: "IRONWOOD'S DECLARING MARTIAL LAW AND ABANDONING MANTLE! SALEM IS COMING AND HE'S GOING TO USE THE STAFF TO MOVE ATLAS! IF WE DON'T STOP HIM, MANTLE IS GOING TO BE DEST...".
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There was a deafening silence in the airship after Ruby's warning was suddenly cut off.
Robyn: "Declaring...martial law? We cannot let him do this" Across her, Clover stiffened slightly, but kept his arms folded, "Miss Hill, I'm sure the General understands the enormity of the s..." He stopped, as a beep from his scroll interrupted him. He slowly took it out and looked at the screen, which displayed a wanted list. A wanted list with Kai's and the group's faces on it. Including Qrow, who sat beside Robyn, watching Clover with a careful eye. As the Ace Ops leader begrudgingly got to his feet and took a step forward, Qrow sighed, his right hand already on the hilt of his blade.
Qrow: "Clover..."
Clover: "Qrow...you should know that I've been asked to bring you in". A loud giggling sound came from Tyrian, handcuffed to his seat a few feet away as he spoke excitedly, "A free ride and a show!". Ignoring him, Clover continued, looking Qrow dead in the eye, "There's also an alert out for Kai's arrest, Qrow. And Team RWBY"
Qrow: "What? Has James lost his mind?"
Robyn: "He's trying to stop anybody who might get in the way of this inhumane plan" As she spoke she rose to her feet, her crossbow ready, "Looks like he underestimated me..." she pointed her weapon directly at Clover, ready to fire, "...again"
Clover: "Only Qrow is under arrest. After everything we've been through tonight, please don't make me arrest you too" He readied his own weapon as he spoke.
Qrow: "Cut it out, both of you! Look, we're almost back to Atlas. Let's talk to James personally and..."
Tyrian: "It's taking a veeery long time for this show to get to the good part!"
Qrow: "Shut. UP!"
Robyn: "He's right. Let's get this over with". And with that she fired. Her arrow was easily deflected by Clover, but she used the opportunity to close the distance between them, following up with a slice of the bladed edges of her crossbow. Clover deflected the blow with his weapon again, opening her up to a quick strike which sent her tumbling to the ground. Qrow let out a frustrated sigh.
Qrow: "Fine." He got up and swung his blade at Clover, who dodged swiftly, but had to raise his weapon to block the follow-up strike, albeit with a little difficulty. The two huntsmen stood there struggling, with their weapons clashing in the middle.
Clover: "I wish it hadn't come to this"
Qrow: "It doesn't have to!" Robyn suddenly appeared with a yell, swinging her blade down in the middle of the two huntsmen, causing them both to back away. Robyn took a stance at Qrow's side and spoke to him sternly, "You can hug it out once we've taken him down!"
Clover swung his hook at Robyn, but she quickly deflected it to the side. The hook swung wildly, slicing into the metal bar Tyrian was handcuffed to, with all three huntsmen unaware of what had just happened. The faunus giggled silently as the fight went on, quickly freeing himself and moving into the cockpit. It was only when the airship shook violently that the three combatants turned to look towards the front of the ship, where Tyrian was perched on top of the controls, wildly laughing his heart out, with the pilot dead in his seat.
Qrow: "What are you doing?!"
Tyrian: "The will...of our GODESS!!" He grabbed the stick and tilted it sharply.
And the airship speedily went into a nose dive, straight down towards the snowy carpet below.
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Winter: "Weiss...what did you do?"
Penny: "The General is leaving Mantle to perish?" Winter sighed sharply, putting away her scroll, "He's saving Remnant. We can't let the relics fall to Salem". She continued her stride down the hallway towards the Winter maiden, but Penny did not follow.
Penny: "But all those people we just protected, they won't survive"
Winter: "We don't have time to..."
Penny: "That doesn't bother you?" Winter stopped in her tracks, a flash of pain streaking across her face.
Penny: "What about your sister? Ruby, and Kai. Our friends." Winter finally turned around to face the girl, her professionalism having returned, "My personal feelings don't matter. We have orders. I'm to retrieve the power of the Winter Maiden so we can access the relic. You're here to ensure my safety." She turned around, "Now come on. We've already lost enough time". Penny remained unmoving, a scowl on her face, "It should matter"
Winter: "Penny..." Winter's face softened as she sighed and walked over slowly, "The General is making hard choices so we don't have to. For the good of all, not just a few." She took Penny's hands in hers gently. But Penny slowly drew her hands away, with the frown not leaving her face.
Penny: "I do not see what is good about any of this" She walked away down the hall without another word. Winter sighed and said softly, "On that we can agree". Gazing off into the distance, she muttered under her breath.
"Please. Help me keep her safe, Kai..."
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Weiss: "Think about what you're doing"
Harriet: "You heard the General. Until this is sorted out, you're all under arrest". She took out a small device and pressed a red button. The lights in the room went red, and metal plates came down over all the windows and skylights, blocking off all escape. Yang raised a brow, "Really?"
Vine: "Please, don't make this difficult"
Blake: "Don't make us have to get out of here by force". With that, Blake, Weiss and Yang readied their weapons, causing Vine, Harriet and Elm to get into stance as well.
Marrow: "Woah woah woah, we're not actually going to slug this out...are we?"
Harriet: "We're not doing anything. They decide what happens next". Ruby took place beside her teammates, unfolding Crescent Rose and getting into her own stance with determination, "We're going through".
Harriet: "Go ahead. Try"
Kai: "Wait." Kai, who had been silent all this while, stepped to the front of the group, hands raised, "We don't have to fight each other"
Vine: "Then you'll come along quietly?". Kai shook his head, "You know we can't do that. What Ironwood is planning isn't right, and you all know it" He turned to gaze to one person in particular, "Come on, Harriet. You can help us stop him. I know you guys are better than this."
Harriet: "And what exactly do you think you know?" She clenched her fists in anger, "You run a few missions with us and now you think we're friends?". Kai's eyes softened, "I don't want to fight you Harriet"
Yang: "Don't bother Kai, it's not worth it. They're just following orders now". Elm growled in response, "Make your choice, or we'll make it for you". Kai cast his eyes to the ground and let out a sad sigh. When he raised his eyes again, they glowed golden.
Kai: "Fine". In the blink of an eye Kai disappeared, reappearing as a golden streak that shot down the center of the Ace Ops.
Harriet: "What the...?" Large golden flames appeard from the ground on both his sides, following his route down the middle. The flames rose into a high wall, effectively cutting off the Ace Ops on either side while creating a path straight to the door, which had been destroyed by his initial attack.
Kai: "I'll hold them off, everyone get out!" The girls began to protest.
Weiss: "You can't be serious!" Kai turned to glare at her, "We're not debating this. There's no time. OUT, NOW!". Weiss went silent at the sight of his eyes, and sighed.
Ruby: "Come on, the flames won't stop them forever. Let's go find the others". With that, the girls ran out of the room through the path Kai had made, flanked on either side by large flaming walls. As Yang ran past Kai, she whispered softly.
Yang: "Be careful..."
Harriet: "Hraaah!!". The flames were beginning to die down, and Harriet had managed to burst through, an enraged look on her face as she spotted Team RWBY leaving, "You're not getting away!". Yellow lightning flashed across her eyes, and she zoomed off towards the door to stop them.
Harriet's eyes widened in surprise as a hand shot out and grabbed her firmly by her collar, putting a sudden stop to her dash. Without saying anything, Kai flung Harriet backwards into the room, and she crashed into one of the metal plates barring the windows, effectively denting it.
By now the rest of the flames had died out, and only the Ace Ops remained in the room, along with Kai who was still facing the open door, his back turned to them. He spoke, "It's not like you to run from a fight, Harriet". Harriet growled and slowly got to her feet, "If it's a fight you want, then I'll gladly give it to you"
Vine: "You're outnumbered here, Kai"
Elm: "If you think you can win against four of us then you're even more naive than I thought". Harriet walked up with a scoff, taking her place with the rest of her teammates, "We're the best huntsmen in Atlas, Kai. You don't stand a chance."
Kai: "Yeah, I know you are. But you're forgetting something..." Slowly, Kai turned around, finally facing down his opponents.
Kai: "...I'm the son of Salem."