Prologue
Oscar Pine observed teams JNR and RWBY on the high tech Atlas Academy’s training ground, and recorded statistics for the teams as they trained against each other.
Team RFFL watched from the sidelines, offering constructive criticism that Oscar placed into notes. “Roberta” Cisneros stood close by and slightly in front of Oscar, where she could watch the practice session, watch Oscar himself, and, without raising suspicion, watch the doors to the practice facility. Roberta made a few detailed tactical suggestions, which Oscar quickly noted on his data tablet.
“They’ve gotten faster, and their auras, especially Jaune's, have gotten stronger” Oscar remarked to Roberta. “Yes, es verdad – that’s true…” Roberta agreed. Then in one smooth motion she drew Blush from her belt and fired. Oscar flinched as the shot rang out across the room, and Nora Valkyrie stared wide-eyed at the bullet hole an inch above her head. Roberta shouted at her; “Keep sticking your cabeza, your head, out, miss Valkyrie! It will not take a sniper long to remove it for you, chica!” Nora nodded sheepishly, then continued her advance.
“They are all improving, and I’m still stuck without even a sign of what my semblance will be…” Oscar said. Roberta smiled down at him, then crouched behind him to massage his shoulders. “Remember the advice I told you; control what you can, then hope for the best and plan for the worst, muchacho.” Her hand gripped his collar behind his neck, and she pulled him to his feet and dragged him to a side alcove on the training ground. Setting him on his feet, she stalked like a great cat around to stand in front of him with her hands on her hips. Oscar looked up at her and swallowed hard.
She smiled at him, half sweetly, half sinisterly. “So come, muchachito, let us see how well you have practiced your hand to hand combat training...”
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“Maldíganla los que maldicen el día, Los que se aprestan para despertar a Leviatán.” Roberta said softly, as she watched from behind cover as Salem, standing on her monstrous Grimm whale, advanced through the air towards the floating city of Atlas. The Grimm version of a flying whale was the stuff children’s night terrors and ancient mariners stories were made of. “And as if the flying monstro was not enough, she has an army of flying Beringels behind her…” she regarded the rest of team RFFL as she spoke.
“Well, time to earn our paychecks. Think if we knock her out, the Grimm will disappear, or maybe run away?” Faith asked. Roberta gave her youngest team member a stare, then raised one eyebrow. “Of course, muchacha, it will be just like in the movies. Destroy the witch, and all her minions just go ‘poof’. Madre de díos y Los Santos…' Roberta exclaimed as she shook her head.
“I think Bahamut can take the whale Grimm, in a fair fight.” Fang mused out loud. “He’s big, but I think big B can tear him up.”
“That may not be the main problem,” Luna spoke up next. “She is engaging in a frontal assault. Atlas has air defenses, right? She must know Atlas will try to put its firepower to use… I think she has a magical shield put up to protect herself and her creatures. At least until they get close enough to engage their teeth and claws.”
Faith said “Makes sense. So all of Atlas’s fancy guns won’t mean shit.”
Luna nodded, said “It gets better. I probably can’t apparate through it either. Or at least I wouldn’t try. It probably blocks magic as well as physical attacks, so to try to go through it…likely wouldn’t be pretty.”
“So we will need to get through the shield, then deal with Salem, el pescado grande mounstruoso, and her winged apes.” Roberta mused. “First things first, the shield. Can we cancel it out or overextend it?”
Luna shrugged. “Magic here takes more energy than the wizarding world, but that’s an ancient witch over there. I bet she’s got power to spare. However….we might be able to make a small hole, especially if she’s extended her power over a wide area….”
“Like if she had to protect her flying apes…” Faith smirked.
“Indeed.” Roberta said, then smiled like a wolf.
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As Salem’s enormous Grimm whale flew closer to Atlas, it was suddenly greeted by an ear splitting roar. From the depths of the urban canyons, Bahamut, King of the Skies rose to challenge the Grimm creature blotting out a significant portion of the sky. On his back, Fang urged him on; “C’mon, big fella! Let’s see if Sunshine was right about this shield...” Extending his great claws, Bahamut fanned his great wings and rose towards the Grimm whale.
As they approached, Fang thought 'Now, that thing is really big!' Bahamut's great claws connected with…something before even putting a scratch on Salem’s great beast. Bahamut flapped his wings and valiantly bit and clawed at the barrier, trying to sunder it, but the witch’s magic held fast. Salem’s mocking laughter could be heard in the streets of Atlas.
'Alright, we go for broke!' Fang thought, then she shouted “Okay, big guy! You know what comes next!” Bahamut rumbled and flew back to make space. Fang felt the power rolling through him, before he opened his mouth. Just like at Beacon, the gloom of Salem’s approaching storm was cancelled by the white beam from the King of the Skies's MegaFlash attack, and Atlas and even Mantle were lit up as if it were a summer day in Vale. The beam impacted the shield around the Grimm whale dead center, and flared with a blindingly brilliant white light. As the beam's energy spread along the curve of the magical shield surrounding Salem’s Grimm whale, it changed into red and orange radioactive fire. Flying Beringels that had strayed too far out or forward were caught in the periphery and immolated. They fell to the snowy plains below like giant moths that had flown too close to a giant candle flame.
For long seconds, Bahamut unleashed on the Grimm whale and its magical protection. It seemed as if time itself stopped as he unleashed his strongest attack. Eventually, however, even his fires banked, and he finished his MegaFlash and the light faded. As the fires cleared, the magical shield and the Grimm whale seemed to be intact.
Salem had dropped to a knee, and no longer appeared to find Fang and Bahamut’s attack amusing. Growling through clenched teeth, she said “Kill them….KILL them…” Rising to her feet, she flung her arm to gesture to her army and shouted so all could hear; “KILL THEM, NOW!” Her army of flying Grimm apes howled and roared and flew over the whale and the magical shield at the dragon.
Bahamut unleashed his own roar as a challenge, and the first wave of Beringels slowed, seemingly stunned by Bahamut’s ferocity. Fang smiled devilishly, thinking 'Guessed correctly, knew your anger at being challenged would cause you to deploy your pawns!' Bahamut flew backwards a body length, then unleashed a torrent of flame from his mouth in a great overhead arc that burned the first wave of Salem’s flying simians to ash that rained down like black snow.
Bahamut flew up and released another burst that flew over the whale and destroyed another cadre of Beringels. Salem snarled in frustration and extended her shield out to protect her forces. Fang smiled again. 'And now you must cover for your mistake…this is going well. Too well.’
Salem stepped forward. “Push that lizard out of the sky!” she grated to her ponderous mount. With a gurgling roar like the sea creature it was meant to be, the Grimm whale started forward. Bahamut retreated, but kept pressure on the magical shield with his flame. As the shield was extended, Fang keyed her mike and simply said “It’s time.”
On one of the bridges below, Penny heard Fang’s transmission, and acknowledged “Roger.” Then Penny grabbed her two comrades and took off into the sky, heading for the Grimm whale.
Penny hovered at the center of the shield, at the top and front of the Grimm cetacean. Setting her thrusters to hold her position, in one hand she firmly gripped a harness around Faith Lehane, in the other a similar harness around Yang Xiao Long. Holding the two huntresses up, Yang’s hair blazed a fiery blond and her eyes turned red as she and Faith began, like human pile drivers, to unload blow after blow on the same spot on the magic shield. As per Yang’s request, Penny fired her hand thruster into Yang’s back. Yang’s semblance took Penny’s force and channeled it into more powerful blows through her Ember Celica. Faith channeled her inner Slayer power through her semblance that amplified it into her gauntlets, allowing her to deliver pulverizing blows.
At first, the whale seemed to move forward inexorably, and Penny added strikes from her own flying swords to Faith and Yang’s assault. As Faith warmed up, she delivered a monumental blow that pushed the shield back. Salem’s feet slid backwards on the whale’s back, and the shield was driven back and down onto the whale’s nose. The Grimm balked as it sensed the barrier in front of it.
Salem’s will over it was like iron, however, and she ordered it to continue forward. Faith delivered another titanic blow that the Grimm felt through the shield. Not to be outdone, Yang delivered her own massive blow that produced a crackling noise from the shield and left a thin, barely visible crack in the immense shield.
Salem hissed like a snake, then gestured to her flying Grimm minions. Two waves of the remaining flying Beringels flew under the Grimm whale and attempted to fly up to attack Penny and the trio. Fang's dragonlance flashed, and her ruin ripped through the waves, shattering wings and bones and sending many flying Grimm apes plummeting to their deaths on the snowy plains below. Bahamut released another flaming arc, trapping much of the wave between his gouts of flame and the extended shield, and forcing Salem to continue to keep the shield wider. She seemed to show no strain, however.
A good many Beringels made it past Fang's ruin and the flames. As they bore upward towards Penny a number of the ape’s heads suddenly exploded out, covering the shield behind them with Grimm brain matter. Other apes had their chests erupt under fire.
Aboard a nearby “procured” transport with Maria at the controls, Roberta and Ruby continued constantly sniping the Beringels from the open door. Ruby fired her Sniper-scythe from the prone position, while Roberta fired from kneeling on one knee. Roberta continued to make headshot after headshot, earning Ruby’s admiration for the older woman’s mastery of her weapon.
And there was no sniper rifle like it on Remnant. Pietro Polendina had taken Roberta’s sword gun and modified it explicitly to her specifications. The stock and barrel strongly resembled the Barrett M82A1 she favored, with a square clip of dust rounds similar to Ruby’s weapon. Roberta had insisted the clips be the same and the rounds used be interchangeable. Where normally her Barrett would have a 40mm MGL grenade launcher mounted under the barrel, she had two smaller barrels with a portion of her former sword blade mounted between them. Pietro had carefully calculated the weight distribution so it matched Roberta’s original Barrett. As the Beringels moved upwards Roberta held one fist upright, signaling Ruby to cease fire as the Beringels were getting too close for the young huntress to have a clear shot. Roberta continued to fire, picking off an extra few of the flying simians.
Suddenly, two Beringels latched onto the transport’s doorframe. Their short fur was still smoldering from the flames they had flown through, and their skin was blistering. They howled with equal parts pain and bloodlust, and their hands like meat hooks clawed for Ruby and Roberta. Their filthy claws were covered in dried and not so dried blood.
Ruby threw herself backwards and fired off a shot that clipped one of the Beringel’s knees. It fell partway onto its side and howled in pain. Roberta didn’t bat an eyelash, and it was as if her face was made of stone as she discharged both barrels of the short range dust shotgun mounted under her rifle. The head and a good portion of the chest of the Beringel in front of her turned into a red mist, and the rest of the Beringel's body fell backwards towards Mantle below.
The other Beringel regained his footing and advanced a step towards Ruby. Wordlessly, Roberta extended the sword blade mounted underneath the main barrel between the two shotgun barrels until it stuck out like a bayonet on the front end of her rifle. She stepped one step closer to the Beringel and stabbed the sword tip up under the beast’s sternum, piercing its heart. Black blood came out of the Beringel’s mouth, as Roberta gripped her weapon and cut downward and out through the Beringel’s abdomen. The Beringel was eviscerated, and it too fell, trailing its entrails behind it like a macabre failed parachute.
Roberta half turned to check on Ruby, who yelled “Look out!” as a massive Beringel filled the doorway, its broad shoulders barely fitting through the transport's doorway. It grabbed and pinned Roberta’s arm and rifle to the wall, and attempted to pull her arm from it’s socket. Roberta’s semblance activated, and the skin of her arm hardened to the toughness of a steel and carbon fiber composite that resisted easily the Beringel’s claws and its crushing grip. Her semblance also increased muscle density in her upper arm, shoulder, and chest to thwart the arm being ripped away. Roberta planted her cybernetic leg to prevent the Beringel pulling her out the door, and reached down to her waist and ejected Wilt from Blush. Catching the red katana's hilt in the reverse position in midair, Roberta turned back and sliced along the Grimm ape's throat. After a long second, the Beringel’s head separated from its neck and came tumbling to rest at Pietro’s feet. “My goodness, gracious!” he said, looking at the severed head, wide-eyed.
As the massive Beringel fell away, one of its clawed hands became entangled in cargo netting and held fast. Maria fought with the controls, and said “We are too heavy to that side, I can’t hold it steady.” Roberta clamped her cybernetic hand to a stanchion on the transport wall, then leaned out and braced her cybernetic foot against the Beringel’s shoulder. Showing no emotion, she pushed down with her metal leg until there was a sickeningly wet popping. Then followed the loud cracking noise of bone breaking as she separated the Beringel’s arm from its shoulder. The rest of the body went tumbling away.
Roberta turned back again to Ruby and asked if she was alright. Ruby nodded yes, and Roberta hauled her up with one hand and set her on her feet. “Are you kidding me?” Ruby said. “Three Beringels, and you killed them just like that? What are you?” Roberta looked down a the diminutive Ruby and deadpanned “I am tired of this war and ready to finish it and go home. That is what I am.” After checking to see if Pietro was alright, Roberta kicked the Grimm ape's lost head out the door as if it were a soccer ball.
Weiss Schnee set Myrtlenaster's sword tip to the deck of the transport, and a glyph formed around her. Simultaneously, glyphs formed in a line under Penny, and a glowing hard light simulacrum of a lancer Grimm came out of each glyph. As one, the Lancers fired their extendable stingers into and through a flying ape's wings. The Lancers dragged the helpless Grimm on a kamikaze run straight into the ground below. Afterwards, all that were left of Salem’s flying simian’s second wave were two Beringels who bore upward at full speed towards Faith and Yang. Suddenly, two of Penny’s swords flashed downwards and both Beringels were cut in half. Salem’s eyes narrowed in frustration as she watched her Grimm minions fail in the simple tasks she assigned them.
Still, she admitted deep down she had developed a grudging respect for the abilities of her opponents. But she was not to be denied, so the drove her titanic mount forward to crush her opposition into Atlas itself, if necessary. Her whale responded by ponderously flying ahead, despite Yang and Faith’s desperate hammerblows pushing the shield inwards painfully against the whale’s head.
Suddenly, the whale lurched to a stop. Salem looked forward to see a glyph in midair with Wiess's Gigas Armas standing on it. The tall knight of hard light was holding the whale back with one hand, and adding to the assault on the shield by using its hard light broadsword and stabbing the same spot that Faith, Penny, and Yang were raining blow after blow on. Unbeknownst to Salem, Weiss had opened a second glyph on the underside of the whale’s tail, sticking the whale in place in midair. Faith and Yang, seeing the whale stop, redoubled their efforts. As their onslaught continued, the crack in the magic shield deepened and widened, and several other cracks formed running away at different angles from the main fissure.
Onboard the transport, Weiss was on her knees, starting to be bathed in sweat despite the cold Atlas air, the strain evident on her face. Jaune was augmenting her aura with his hand on her back, but Weiss was still suffering greatly. “It’s.- it’s so strong!” Weiss moaned. She clenched her hands so tightly that her nails drew blood. She panted with the exertion. On the Grimm whale, Salem continually commanded the beast to move, and the whale groaned like it was dying and redoubled it’s efforts for its mistress.
Weiss had to do everything she could not to shriek. She closed her eyes and said “Ahhhh! I can’t! It’s too strong, I can’t stop it!...” She bit her lip, and a trickle of blood leaked down her chin. She only avoided collapsing because of Jaune both giving her more aura and actually physically supporting her with his hand on her back. She began to sob and repeated “I can’t…I can’t…” and hung her head.
Roberta knelt beside her on one knee. She gripped under Weiss’s jaw tightly but not painfully, fingers pushed into one cheek, thumb into the other. “Open your eyes, miss Schnee…” She commanded in a voice like iron. Weiss’s eyes opened wide, and Roberta pointed her head towards Penny, Faith, and Yang in the distance, and Fang on Bahamut. “These people, your friends and teammates, are going all out. They are risking themselves for your land, your country, and your people.” Roberta leaned down and said fiercely in Weiss’s ear; “I know it hurts, and I know you are tired. Forget about pain! Forget about fatigue! They can be controlled; you just turn them off, and focus on the mission and do whatever you must do to make it succeed! For your people and your country…”
Weiss looked up at Roberta, then closed her eyes and, practically whispering, said “For my people…For my country…” She continued to repeat the words as a mantra, seeming to draw willpower from them.
The glyph the Gigas Armas stood upon shifted from midair to sitting on the shield itself. The knight took a two handed grip on its hard light broadsword and stabbed downward into the crack. The sword lodged in the crack, widening and lengthening it.
Seeing the sword stuck in the shield, Faith had a flash of inspiration and exclaimed; “Penny, go for the top of the sword!” As Penny reoriented herself above the sword, Faith looked down at the pommel and said “Now we have a chisel, so let’s hammer it home!” She and Yang tapped their gauntlets together, sending out a shock wave that even Salem felt through her barrier. They pounded on the sword hilt together, and it sunk in little by little at first. Faith delivered a devastating blow, and the sword visibly sank deeper. Finally, Faith and Yang put everything they could into a dual blow of titanic proportions.
There was an earsplitting sound like a crack of thunder, and Salem looked up to see a sword tip inches from her face. Rage twisted her features at first, then was replaced by a grudging smile crossing her features. “Well done…” she said softly. She raised a hand glowing with magical energy, and rested it on the broadsword’s edge. 'Now suffer! ' Salem thought, as the light from her hand bathed the sword and the Gigas Armas holding it. Salem clinched her hand around the sword, and it and the knight shattered into shards of hard light that dissolved away.
On board the transport, Weiss’s glyph turned black and arcs of energy laced up and down her body. Lie Ren pulled Jaune away just in time as Wiess screamed once, then fell over and lay seizing on the deck. Lie touched her, activating his calming semblance, and her seizure seemed to calm down and she lay semi conscious and moaning.
Roberta checked Weiss’s vital signs and used her sensors to perform medical diagnostics as best she could. The whole time she spoke calmly and reassuringly to Weiss; “Muy bien, princesita…just rest now, you have earned it. You have done your land, your people, and your team proud today, mí princesita. Bien, bien, beIn…”
Roberta determined that the young woman had taken a shock to her system, but appeared to be stable. She injected Weiss with a dose of painkiller to ease her suffering and make her more comfortable. “I believe the worst is past for her now, and she is stable.” Roberta informed the others. Looking at Lie and Nora, Roberta said “Please get her into a blanket and keep her warm. Try to keep her from going into shock.” As Lie and Nora scrambled to help Weiss, Roberta asked Pietro; “Doctor, please tend to her. She is a brave young woman, indeed.” Pietro nodded and promised to help her to the best of his abilities.
Above the shield, Penny’s photoreceptors critically noted that hard light shards appeared inside the shield when the sword was shattered. “There is a hole in the opponent’s shield barrier…” she broadcast.
“THEN GET OUT OF THE WAY!” Fang roared. Without hesitation, Penny fired her thrusters and lifted herself, Yang, and Faith to safety. Bahamut roared and then released his MegaFlash at the crack in the shield. Salem hissed and raised her arms, putting as much magical power into the remaining shield as she could. Bahamut’s nuclear power impacted the shield and curved around it with nuclear fire like before. But where the shield had been penetrated a portion of the MegaFlash beam blasted through. The beam clipped Salem’s cheek, causing her to emit a shriek heard throughout Atlas, and the shield flickered momentarily as she ducked away from the beam. Smoke rose from her cheek.
The beam impacted on the Grimm whale’s back, and a large section of its flesh vaporized. The whale bellowed and buckled, causing Salem to fall to one knee. As Bahamut’s fire ended, Salem grimaced and stood. Her shield still held, barely. She faced Fang and Bahamut and magical power glowed in her hands as she prepared to deal with her opponents herself.
Then the bullet entered through her left eye and shattered and blew out the back of her skull, taking her brain with it. She crumpled like a ragdoll and her shield suddenly vanished without a sound.
On a rooftop below, Luna Lovegood opened her fan and apparated away just before the call came through that the shield was down. She had already seen that it would be….
On the transport, Roberta saw Salem crumple in her sights. Ruby was nearly speechless at the shot Roberta had just made. Roberta had used data from Penny as a forward observer, and her cyber eye and her internal AI had helped her cybernetic hand cancel out the vibrations and movement from the unsteady deck. But it had still taken all of Roberta’s skill and experience as a world class sniper to thread the needle through the odd shaped hole in the shield and to hit Salem where she would be incapacitated. With her cyber eye Roberta saw Luna appear on the whale and head towards Salem. '¡Madre de Díos y Los Santos, please be with our little Luna! ' Roberta thought as she watched Salem lurch to her feet. She kissed the cross around her neck, hoping Luna was ready for the fight ahead.
Luna was glad she had applied sticking charms to her feet, given how the whale was bucking after Bahamut finally boiled away a significant piece of its back. She saw Salem crumpled ahead, with a fan shape of blood, bone, and brain spread behind her. Luna froze momentarily as Salem stirred and rose to her feet.
“So you finally came to fight me…let us see who has the stronger magic.” Salem said, arrogantly. Luna shrugged and opened her fan, then said “Patronus”. Silvery haze flowed from her fan to form a silvery, ethereal hare. Luna’s patronus ran straight at Salem, then dodged a green beam of magical energy that Luna’s semblance foresaw Salem would cast. The hare leapt into Salem, and Salem gasped and clutched her chest, grimacing. Luna cast her own green beam, but Salem intercepted Luna’s spell with a hand that glowed with her own power.
“Weak…” Salem said, as she smiled wickedly. Inwardly, Luna shivered; of all the dangerous people she had met, only Roberta could produce an equally bone-chilling smile. Salem cast another beam from one hand, then another with her other hand. Luna dodged the first part of Salem’s barrage easily, but even with her semblance of foresight, she couldn’t avoid the second beam. She did, however, turn sideways and only take a glancing hit. That single hit was enough to sear off the skin in a broad swath across her midriff. Luna squealed and collapsed to her knees.
Salem advanced, hands glowing. “I expected better than this! You are supposed to be able to use magic?” As Salem raised her hands and brought them down for a coup de gras, Luna apparated and disappeared. From behind, Salem heard Luna say “Avada Kedavra! ” As Salem turned, she saw more green light headed towards her, and thrust out her hand like before to block Luna’s spell.
Only at the last second when the green light morphed into brighter green and there was a rushing sound did Salem realize that this spell was different than the previous one she had so easily blocked. She realized the little witch had tricked her; using a weak spell first to disguise a possibly stronger spell later. The Killing Curse impacted fully on Salem, wrapping her in green magical energy bolts. Then her soul was ejected from her body.
Luna stood up despite the pain, and watched as the Avada kedavra pulled Salem’s soul out and her body crumpled like a puppet with its strings cut. But then her soul seemed tethered somehow to her body, and the Killing Curse and the tethering seemed to engage in a strange tug of war over Salem’s soul. Luna had, since childhood, been able to see things no one else seemed to see. Even things other wizards and witches couldn’t see were often visible to Luna. 'But…' Luna thought 'I’ve never seen anything like this! '
As the Curse began to dissipate with time, the tethering grew stronger. Luna began to realize that Salem’s soul would eventually reenter her body, probably resurrecting her like so many times before. Luna pondered her options as Salem’s soul moved back closer to and eventually merged with her body. As Salem began to move, Luna shouted “Avada Kedavra! ” again, and keyed her throat microphone as she watched the contest over Salem’s soul begin again.
“We have a problem.” Luna’s voice came over team RFFL's, RWBY's, and JNPR's communications. As overall Team Leader, Roberta answered, “Roger, go, what’s wrong?”
Luna said “I can use the Curse to knock her soul out of her body, but something is holding her soul to that body. Over time it overcomes the curse and her soul returns and she resurrects.” Luna suddenly realized what was preventing the curse from removing Salem’s soul; “I think it’s the immortality the Remnant gods cursed her with. It balances against the Killing Curse, and eventually wears it out”
Roberta pondered this fatal flow in their plan. “Roger,” she responded. She thought about calling for a retreat, then thought 'No, not yet. We have come this far and have Salem down. We may never get this chance again! We have to keep trying…' She radioed “Can you make your magic stronger? Overcome the other curse?”
Luna, watching Salem’s soul returning yet again to her body, said “I would have to use all my remaining magical energy, and what if it didn’t work? We’d be stuck, Avada Kedavra! ”
Blake leaned forward, “What if you destroyed her body while her soul is out of it?” Roberta arched an eyebrow, then nodded.
“Mí felína suggests we destroy her body while her soul is absent. What do you think?”
Luna said “That might work. At worst she would be a disembodied Spirit. At best, the Killing Curse takes her soul away.”
Roberta said “Roger, we will be with you shortly.” To Maria she said “Get us over the whale, please.”
“Sure.” Maria responded. She looked back at Roberta with narrowed eyes, then asked “But how are you going to get down there and destroy that body?”
“I have a few pounds of dust explosives.” Roberta answered. She noticed Ruby kneeling by Weiss and holding her hand. Roberta’s eyes narrowed. 'But maybe…' she thought.
“We’re over the whale.” Maria said.
Looking out the door, Roberta stood and stepped over to Ruby. She pulled Ruby to her feet and picked her up, wrapping her arms around her. “Please forgive my rude treatment of you, Rosita, and please forgive me for this.” Carrying Ruby tightly, Roberta strode to the door and jumped out of the transport.
“Ahhhhhhhh-woo-hooo!” Ruby yelled as they fell.
Partway down, a Beringel took interest in the falling women. Sensing easy pickings, the flying ape flew to intercept the pair. Roberta drew blush and in midair put two bullets into the Beringel’s eyes.
Roberta pointed her toes and curled protectively around Ruby. Her semblance strengthened her skin to the density of steel and remodeled her bones and back to be like giant springs. Her soft tissues became interlaced with carbon fiber to strengthen them. Her cybernetic leg extended to take the initial force of her landing, and shock absorbers activated in her ankle, knee, and hips. Her semblance hardened the circuitry and wiring in her cybernetic parts to handle the impact.
Roberta landed and her lower body stabbed into the Grimm whale’s flesh up to her hips. She uncurled around Ruby and asked if she was hurt. “Ow! Owiee! Owiee! I’ll be okay…” Ruby answered. She looked at Roberta, and innocently asked “Couldn’t I have used my semblance to get down here without crashing?” Roberta looked up, mouth slightly open as she realized Ruby had a point. Then her normal stoicism reasserted itself and she released Ruby and set her on her feet. With a firm push she urged Ruby to move, saying “Ondelei, move, girl! Luna needs you.” Roberta popped herself out of the hole she had made in the Grimm whale and jumped to her feet to follow Ruby, ignoring the bloody gore on her legs and boots.
The Grimm whale bucked and writhed, and with difficulty Roberta and Ruby reached where Luna and Salem were locked in their cycle of Salem resurrecting and Luna recasting the Killing Curse. Luna looked tired, the Killing Curse being complicated and requiring strong energy to cast. But Luna still took a moment to cast sticking charms on Ruby and Roberta’s feet so they could stand easier on the whale’s back.
“I have, maybe, two or three more casts in me.” Luna shivered with fatigue. Waving her fan at Salem, Luna said “She will be back in another minute…”
Roberta looked, but with all her sensors and her cybernetic eye she could only detect Salem’s lifeless Grimm body. “You can see her?” Roberta asked, and Luna nodded.
'You can see her too, if you use my power in your human eye…' Amber, the former Fall Maiden said in Roberta’s head. Roberta released a trickle of the Maiden's power, and her human eye blazed with yellow flame. She could see Salem’s soul, a maiden herself wreathed in dark flames and matter. She could see the green of the Avada Kedavra trying to pull the soul away from Salem’s body, and the almost stretching of the soul as the “tethering” sought to pull it back in.
“Rosita, after Luna casts her spell, use your eyes to destroy Salem’s body…” Ruby quietly stepped forward, fingering the red cloak from her mother. Her eyes were fixed on Salem’s lifeless body. Ruby’s head dropped and she let out a sob, as her legs deserted her and she began to fall onto her knees.
Roberta quickly stepped in and caught Ruby around her waist, holding her upright and fetching her back tight and supporting her against her own body. Gently stroking her hair, Roberta asked “¡Rosita! Ruby, what is wrong?” A quick scan of Roberta’s diagnostic sensors showed nothing seemed physically wrong with the young huntress.
“What she said…about my Mother.” Ruby sobbed, her voice husky and cracking. “It’s all I can think about when I see her…”
“¡Ai, Ruby! ” Roberta exclaimed as she placed her hand on Ruby’s forehead, pulling Ruby’s head up and holding it tight to her. Ruby sobbed as she looked up to Roberta’s face, tears running down her cheeks. Roberta’s heart hurt for the young huntress, though her face remained expressionless.
'I constantly have to remember they are still so young, even though they are called on to save the world!' Roberta thought. In a stern but kind voice, she said “Ruby, she said those things to affect you this way and prevent you from using your eyes! Think about what Maria told you, focus on that. Think about your friends, those you love. Focus on protecting them and the people of Atlas. And saving the people of Mantle…”
“And you must have justice for your mother…” Roberta told Ruby in a lower voice. “Only you and your eyes can be the hammer that can smite this unrighteous one and right the wrong she inflicted on your mother, your father, and you, my Rosita! ”
“For my mother.,” Ruby whispered. “Yes,” Roberta said. “Justice for your mother…” Infused with the Maiden’s power, Roberta could feel the energy welling up inside Ruby.
In her mind, Roberta asked Amber 'If I help her, combine her power with our power, will I hurt her?'
'Is her cause a just cause, and do you believe you would aid her for the right reasons? Truly, is it justice you seek for her?'
'Yes, this is a right and just thing we do…'
Roberta could see Amber smile in her mind; 'No, you will do no permanent harm. She will just be exhausted afterwards.’
Roberta softly smiled. Her hand on Ruby’s head blazed with the Maiden’s power. Ruby’s eyes opened wide, and the same orange fire that surrounded Roberta’s human eye blazed from Ruby’s eyes.
Salem’s body began to stir. Luna cast Avada Kedavra, and Roberta saw Salem’s dark infested soul leave her body again. Roberta thought 'Now!' , and Ruby screamed at the top of her lungs “FOR MY MOTHER!”
The twin blasts of white light from Ruby’s eyes rivaled Bahamut’s weapon for sheer brightness. Luna fell backwards and rolled onto her stomach, covering her head and quick casting a shield charm over her back. Roberta held Ruby and concentrated on channeling the power released, protecting the girl. A grimace was on her normally emotionless face.
Maria turned the transport away from the light blasting through the cockpit windows, her own photoreceptors cranking their irises nearly shut to protect her optics. The passengers were forced to hold on tight during the sudden turn, and Lie and Nora braced themselves and held tightly onto the still unconscious Weiss. Penny flew herself and Faith and Yang away from the light as fast as possible, but then stopped as her sensors registered no heat or other dangerous radiation in the light. Bahamut turned away from the light and rolled his body to protect Fang, who screamed “Sunshine!” for Luna, her beloved.
As the light dissipated, Roberta realized she and Ruby were falling. Calling on the Maiden’s power, she slowed their fall and looked for Luna. The sharp eyed former assassin spotted Luna falling not far below them. Reaching out with the Maiden’s power, she caught Luna and slowed her fall.
Below them, the former Grimm whale, completely turned to stone by Ruby’s eyes, fell towards the snowy plains at the outskirts of Mantle. Roberta watched as it impacted and shattered against the ground, kicking up a cloud of snow and dust that shrouded Mantle itself. The impact crushed many of the invading Grimm, and the remaining creatures decided to retreat in caution.
Roberta allowed Ruby and herself to fall a little faster until they caught up to Luna, and Roberta pulled the little white witch in and held on to her tight. Roberta eventually came to slowly land on the now uneven ground around the whale’s impact. As they touched down, Luna stirred and assured Roberta that she could stand by herself. Roberta turned next to checking on Ruby, eventually assuring herself that the teenager just suffered from exhaustion and was dazed from the shock of the events taking place. Satisfied that Ruby was stable, Roberta turned her around to carry her in a reverse piggyback to keep her warm.
In the distance, Roberta saw the semi transparent wraith left of Salem’s soul. Picking up Luna, Roberta hovered and flew over to the spot using the Maiden’s power. Quietly, Luna thought 'I'm not sure I can cast another Killing Curse, and Ruby is spent, poor little thing. I’m not sure what we can do if Salem is resurrecting…'
They arrived, and Luna re-activated her semblance. Salem’s soul still was wreathed in the green tendrils of the Avada Kedavra, though it was not being taken away. There was no sign of the tethering like before, and her soul seemed to be slowly disappearing, somehow. As the dark matter and energy dissipated while Salem’s soul grew more transparent, Salem’s soul resembled her Grimm form less and less and her original maiden form more and more. “Is she fading?” Roberta asked Luna. After watching and seeing into the future with her semblance, Luna nodded. “Yes, she’s leaving this existence…”
As Roberta and Luna watched, Salem’s soul sunk to kneeling, her head down and her hands in her lap. She appeared to be lamenting. Eventually, she thinned to be almost transparent, and she seemed to be burying her face in her hands before her soul finally disappeared.
Atlas’s guns turned on the remaining Beringels, and Roberta saw Bahamut and the transport approaching in the distance.
Ruby began to stir in Roberta’s arms, whimpering slightly. Roberta held the back of her head in her hand and rested her head on her shoulder, gently shushing her. Roberta softly whispered to Ruby that “It is over. You can rest now, Rosita. Salem has been defeated.”
Ruby quietly began to sob, and Roberta heard her murmur “Mother”. Roberta, cheek pressed with feathery lightness to Ruby’s head, whispered to her “I wish I had the pleasure of meeting your mother, sweet Rosita…” Roberta rested her forehead on Ruby’s head. “No doubt, senorita Ruby, your mother is very proud of you today. Indeed, I believe this is verdad, true, no?”
Ruby sniffled, then the emotional dam broke and she buried her face in her hands, crying and sobbing. After a minute, she apologized and tried to turn away in embarrassment. Roberta smiled at the young woman’s attempt to hide while being held in midair. Roberta gently pulled Ruby’s hands away from her face, then cradled Ruby’s head in her hand and pulled her in and buried Ruby’s face tenderly in her chest and neck. Ruby abandoned all pretenses and cried with abandon, clinging to Roberta. Roberta wrapped her arms around Ruby and held her tight.
Epilogue
Roberta, wearing her black pants and boots, black vest and white button down blouse, stepped into Oscar’s room in the Atlas medical center. Oscar was sleeping, bandages covering his shoulder where General Ironwood had shot him, and also covering his hand that had been damaged in the subsequent battle. Bandages and salves were visible on various other wounds. Roberta set down the bag of goodies she brought for him, and made no sound as she moved to stand beside his bed. She looked down on the sleeping young man and a flash of sadness crossed her face. 'There is a distressing pattern of the young men I care for and try to protect ending up with bullet holes in them….' She shook her herself internally and reminded herself that his prognosis was for a full recovery.
Oscar was visibly sweating. 'Probably due to the infection, and having to move and fight after being shot…' Roberta thought. She grabbed a damp cloth and a warm dry towel from the bathroom, then with a feathery light touch proceeded to tenderly mop and dry his face and neck to make him more comfortable. When she was done, she pulled up a chair and was content to watch him sleep. She rested a soft hand on his chest, fingers splayed. She felt his chest rise and fall with each breath, and could feel his young heart beating out its regular pattern in his chest.
Her mind drifted to a day or two ago….
General ironwood stood before Roberta, Winter Schnee to his right. He picked up a rather gaudy medal from a pillow Winter held.
He turned to the attendees; the rest of team RFFL, teams JNPR, RWBY, and the ACEops team. “I hereby present to Special Operative Rosarita Cisneros, known as 'Roberta' Cisneros, the Order of Atlas for her actions in the battle against the forces of Salem.”
He placed the medal around her throat, and the attendees clapped and cheered. After the applause died down, Ironwood asked Roberta if “She would like to say a few words?”
Roberta stepped close to him, and said “There is one thing…” From behind her back she produced a pair of restraints, which she put around his wrists.
The ACEops looked shocked, except for Clover. As they reached for their weapons he told them to stand down. Roberta accessed remotely one of the video screens near the stage, and a video from Oscar’s point of view played. It showed the dialogue between him and Ironwood, then Ironwood firing a pistol at Oscar and Oscar falling. “I made Oscar wear a body camera with a constant feed to my and Penny’s AI's…” Roberta informed him.
Winter made to escort him out. To the ACEops he said “I’m sorry I wasn’t a better example to you. Winter will command you now, and I’m sure she will do a better job than I did.” The ACEops team gave him a final salute, and he looked grateful.
Before he left, he said tiredly to Roberta “I lost my way in this war, obviously. I will regret it for the rest of my life. But I am glad it looks like you found your path again, Ms. Cisneros... I wish you the best of luck as you follow it.”
Eventually Oscar stirred. Opening his eyes, he first groggily and then more steadily looked up to see her genuinely and softly smiling over him. “Roberta, hello.” He said. She softly cupped his unbandaged hand in her own, then gently rubbed and patted it with her other hand.
“Good morning, young master Pine. Did you sleep well?” Oscar nodded. “Good, I am glad to hear so.” In a softer voice, she asked “Are you in any pain? I could ask your nurse for something if you want me to.”
“I think I’m okay, ma'am. Just a little sore.”
Roberta smiled and then fussed over him, straightening his hospital gown and fixing his collar to make it more comfortable. Then adjusting his pillow before tenderly finger combing his hair out of his face. While taking pains to straighten him, she quietly checked out his dressings to make sure they were clean and dry. Spying the remains of his breakfast tray, she said “I see you had something already this morning. I brought you a snack, if you are still hungry?” His eyes widened and he nodded eagerly. 'Of course you are hungry, muchachito. When is a teenage boy not starving?...'
As she reached into the bag she brought him, he said “Thank you so much…They feed you enough here, but…it’s not very good or tasty.” She laughed a little at his description, and produced a large, ripe apple. “I see, master Pine. Let us see if we can not please your palate a little more…” She produced a small, sharp knife and proceeded to peel and cut the apple into slices for him. She laid it out on a napkin in front of him and poured him a fresh cup of water to drink. She raised his head and, being careful of his still tender wounds, helped him to sit up so he could eat properly. She tucked another napkin under his chin and spread it out over his chest to keep him clean.
He thanked her again, then pawed ineffectually at the slices with his bandaged hand. He was contemplating using his hand on the side where his shoulder was damaged before Roberta intervened. Gently cupping his hand, she rested it on his chest. She then tenderly cradled his head and neck in her cybernetic hand as she fed him carefully and efficiently. She wiped his mouth and chin several times while she fed him, and carefully cleaned him up after he finished.
She lowered his head slightly so he could rest more easily, then softly finger combed his hair. “Master Pine…Oscar, I wanted to tell you that I will be leaving in the next few days. It is time to return to my young Master Garcia who I love dearly and who needs my protection.” She had already told him why she was on Remnant, and of her true home on the Lovelace estate.
“I see. You have your duty and you do love him?” Oscar asked softly. Roberta nodded and firmly said “Yes.” without any hesitation.
Oscar sighed, then said “If this journey has taught me anything, it has taught me that in the end, you have to do what you think is right. If you think it’s right for you to go back, then it’s for the best that you do go…” He looked up at Roberta, eyes brimming. “But I’ll still miss you, Roberta. I’ll miss you a lot.”
Roberta carefully wrapped strong arms around Oscar in a tight embrace. With both her hands, one metal and one skin she cupped the back of his head, fingers enmeshed through his hair. She held him with his face into her chest and neck, and rested her chin on top of his head.
Softly, she told him “I will never forget you, Oscar Pine. You will always be in my thoughts and prayers for as long as I draw breath, no matter where I am.”
“And you will not be alone, Oscar. Faith and Velvet Scarlatina have both promised to continue the journey to obtain the relics with you. They will protect you and watch over you. Faith assures me that if Hazel Rainart appears again, he will not touch a hair on your head. Velvet tells me she knows you and Faith will be upset and sad at my leaving, so she has promised me she will watch over and take care of you both, and do whatever is necessary to help you.”
“And Fang and Luna have said they will check on you three regularly, and will be ready if you call for help. Teams RWBY and JNPR stand ready to help you, as well.”
Though she didn’t say it aloud, Roberta thought; ‘And Faith, Velvet and mí felína, Blake and I have discussed what happens after you obtain the relics and recall this world’s gods; specifically, what happens to Oscar and his body if Ozpin is gone. If you are left at your current abilities or as the teenage farmboy you were before, then Faith and Velvet will be ready to return you to your Aunt’s farm or assist you to achieve any other goals you decide upon.
If you are left broken, mentally and/or physically, to where you cannot resume your former life, then Faith and Velvet will care for you and take you and your Aunt to Menagerie. There Blake’s mother, Kalí Belladonna, has assured us you and your Aunt will have a place in the Chieftain’s household where you will receive the best of care with all dignity and honor.
And if you are left in madness or on life support with no hope for recovery, then they will decide with your Aunt what is the most merciful decision for you.
No matter what, I will pray and I know God will smile on you, Oscar Pine…'
Roberta tilted Oscar’s head back, and looked at him directly, eye to eye. “No matter what anyone says, Oscar, know this; you are a great person. For you to accept what has been thrust upon you, and then to decide to want to help this world and to do your part to make Remnant a better place, makes you one of the best and bravest persons I have ever known.” She lovingly kissed his forehead, pressing her lips delicately to him as if he were fine China. He blushed and whispered “Thank you.” She smiled and tenderly pulled his head back into her and held him tight for minutes, humming softly and soothingly to him.
She stood up as his lunch arrived, and stayed to help him to eat. After he had finished, from behind her back she produced a large chocolate bar and dangled it under his nose. His eyes begged her for it before he could open his mouth. She gently patted his cheek and opened the wrapper. Breaking it into bite size pieces, she fed it to him slowly. His eyes closed as he chewed and he sighed with pleasure as he savored the rich, creamy sweetness melting in his mouth.
Between bites, she gently combed his hair with her fingers and made sure he was warmly tucked in. She caressed and patted his cheek as she said goodbye to him after firmly promising to visit him more before she left. As she walked away, she noticed a stunningly beautiful young lady with a warm smile wearing a tech’s uniform was headed for his room with a basin and several cloths and towels, obviously preparing for a sponge bath. A smile briefly creased her face; a favor called into the Schnee's, Winter and Weiss, who knew the officers and executives running the hospital. Oscar would receive the VIP treatment during his stay.
Her smile faded and her normal, stoic face and demeanor resumed as Roberta walked down the stairs to the hospital exit. Unbidden, a sudden single tear quietly rolled down Roberta’s cheek. She quickly wiped it away and quietly the former assassin walked away into the crowded Atlas streets.