Chapter 24 – Epilogue

Whitley

The young boy with ashen hair walks gleefully down his Atlesian Hallways, completely oblivious to the hell that Mistral is suffering through right now. Unaware that his own sister is dying right now because of Death. Klein walks past him with a silver platter, holding an assortment of sweets and cakes. Whitley does not even glance at Klein; he just takes a cupcake and continues on, taking a bite out of it.

Klein groans, rolling his eyes in disgust at the spoilt brat that just passed him. Whitley approaches the door of his father's office, the cold air creating a bone chilling aura as he approaches. He stops when he hears his father shouting at somebody inside. He sighs when he stops, leaning against the wall. "We have lost all contact with Mistral, and you are asking about your suppliers?" Ironwood scoffs in disgust at Jacques.

"What can I say, James? I am a businessman." Jacques responds.

Whitley opens the door, walking inside as he finishes the cupcake and his crosses his arms, leaning against the wall. Ironwood looks at Whitley and then at Jacques as the door closes.

"I will take my leave." He says, turning from Jacques.

"No." Whitley objects as he puts his hand in front of the door. Ironwood stops in his tracks and looks at the young boy who looks right at him. "Whatever you were speaking of can be said in front of me." Whitley states. Ironwood looks at him and then back at his father, he has his hands clasped together on his desk, looking at the General. James looks at Whitley Schnee and he sighs, turning back to his father.

"We cannot just abandon Mistral like this." Ironwood says.

"You were the one who locked down Atlas." Jacques points out to him. James angrily glares at him.

"Please, Jacques...your daughters are down there. If Mistral has fallen to the Grimm, aren't you worried about their well-being?" He asks him. Jacques glares at him and he scoffs.

"They are not my daughters anymore...they lost that title when they turned against the Schnee Family Name." He says to him. The look of complete and utter disgust on James' face is to be lauded from how much he cares compared to the ice cold business man who sits before him. "If Mistral has fallen, then so be it. We must focus on ourselves, the Grimm might as well finish off Vacuo, at least when they come here we will have our defences ready to wipe them out." He says.

It is at this moment that James truly sees the mad nature that has grown in Jacques Schnee like a parasite. "What has happened to you?" James questions, taking a full step back. Jacques leans forward, still staring at the General.

"I am getting a grip, doing what you are failing so miserably to accomplish." Jacques reveals to him. James turns around and his eyes widen when he sees Whitley holding up a pistol, pointing it straight at his face. Whitley smirks at him as he stands there, pulling the hammer back with his thumb, loading a fresh bullet into the chamber. James stands still, his eyes moving down and then he realises that Whitley has managed to take his Revolver without him even noticing. He then looks at Jacques.

"What are you doing?" He questions.

"Getting a grip..." Jacques answers. "Guards!" He calls.

The door opens and a pair of Atlesian Soldiers step inside with their rifles aimed straight at the General and his eyes widen as he finds himself betrayed, they all point their firearms right at his face. He holds up both hands, he is outnumbered and most certainly outgunned. "Under your eyes...Atlas shall fall...under mine?" Jacques says, his hand pressed to his chest. "I will keep us safe." He says. Jacques looks at the guards over James' shoulder. "Take him away." He orders. One of the soldiers takes the butt of his rifle and thwacks it against the back of James' head, but the augmented General barely flinches.

He spins round and smashes his fist right into the ribs of the soldier that hit him and the impact throws him through the door. He immediately goes to draw his revolver, until one of the soldiers fires something into him. Something that suddenly and aggressively shuts his cybernetic augmentations down, electrocuting him as well. Ironwood roars with pain as his body writhes around from the shock he suffered...eventually collapsing to the ground. The soldiers drag his body from the office and Whitley closes the door behind them.

"That went well." Whitley chuckles as he puts the gun down on the table before his father.

"Well done, son." Jacques compliments with a villainous smirk on his face.

"So, what now? Our contacts have said that Mistral has fallen...what's the next step?" Whitley asks Jacques.

Jacques picks up a bottle of alcohol and he pours some into his glass on the table, filling it with whiskey to give the ice cubes something to float upon. He picks up the glass, shaking the cubes before he takes a swig. He exhales as he looks up, his breath emerging in a cold cloud of mist from his mouth.

"Next...we talk with our allies." He says, pressing a button.

The lights in the room dim and the projectors fold out from the walls and ceiling, creating a live feed with two individuals. Merlot is one of them; he stands tall with his cybernetic augmentations shown through the pixels that make up his body. The second man is different; he has slicked back black hair and three scars straight up his left eye. He is quite muscular and has tattoos up his arm with a pair of swords sheathed on his back. The man has seen warfare for a very long time. He also wears a black trench-coat with red and gold accents, the same colour scheme as the Acolytes of Lien. "Darren Ortega, good to see you made it." Jacques greets as he stands up to them.

"Ah yes...finally joining the party, eh?" Merlot chuckles as he turns to face him. The man does not say much, he just looks at Merlot with a sarcastic sound as he rolls his eyes.

"Do not think us friends; Jacques...our alliance is a contract, nothing more." Ortega seriously speaks, with a very strong and intimidating voice as he crosses his arms.

"Fun chap, isn't he?" Merlot laughs.

"How are things going?" Jacques asks him, pacing back and forth with his glass in his hand.

"We have secured many towns and facilities. My men are ready to provide the defence and offence you need." Darren promises.

"Good...at least I have some defence. Those kids are a magnet of bad news for people like us." Merlot says.

"Not against what we have created. My soldiers are now equipped with the most advanced combat tech ever created, designed to challenge these...warriors...with ease. They won't stand a chance." Darren says.

"Don't underestimate them. They managed to tear through my machines back at Vale." Merlot states.

"Those were simply machines, our soldiers are effective. And with the Onyx Phantom, she will be able to kill them quickly anyway. With James Ironwood out of the picture and Ozpin already taken care of, we just have to finish off the White Fang." Darren explains.

"Any idea of where Adam Taurus and Sienna Khan fled?" Jacques asks him.

"Well...we checked the camp that my spies overheard them speaking of. The Knights of Grimm picked the place clean." Darren continues. "Wherever they are...they had help."

Help from whom?

Jacques nods his head up and down and then he looks over at his son who stands in the corner. "Whitley." He summons. Whitley approaches his father.

"Yes, father?" He cheerily responds with upbeat animation. Ortega literally rolls his eyes at Whitley; clearly he does not like the boy that much.

"I want you to continue to run the business whilst I meet with our allies at Drift of Wandering Star. Keep the peace. I will return shortly." Jacques says to him, setting his glass down on the table. Whitley smiles, sitting down in his seat.

"Of course, father." He replies, blindly following the orders of his father. The meeting comes to a close and he walks out of his office, leaving his son to finish off his work in there. Whitley smirks...feeling more power and control in his hands.

He is becoming exactly like his father.

Cinder

The young woman sits inside of a Bullhead that takes her and Watts back to Salem's Sanctuary in the Uncharted Lands. She looks through the window of the vehicle as it travels across the dark landscape and all that travels through her mind is everything that happened there. She knows of what happened to Ruby...that Death took that satisfaction from her easily.

Watts is quietly sat looking at his scroll at the information that scrolls down the holographic screen before his fingertips. Cinder observes the skyscraper sized purple dust crystals that stick from the ground like the ribs of an ancient beast. And amongst them stands the Sanctuary, a huge structure with a tall tower in the centre of it, the huge hall and many other large buildings surrounding it. Beowulves howl to the Fractured Moon in the sky as they stand there. The Bullhead decelerates when approaching the landing pad and Cinder is the first to get up, walking out of the ship. Behind her is Watts.

They walk towards the doors and they push them all open. Stood inside is Death, his sword pressed into the floor. Mercury and Emerald are sat at the huge table, feeling incredibly vulnerable whilst this blood-thirsty Grimm Knight is stood only a couple feet away from them. She storms straight towards death and she stretches her finger out towards him. "Why did you do that?" Cinder erupts, ending his conversation with Salem. A stunning silence forms in the hall and he slowly looks over his shoulder at her, his glowing red eyes fixating onto her.

"Why did I do what?" Death questions.

"Take that from me? I was supposed to kill Ruby! Not you!" She shouts. Death chuckles menacingly at her, his shoulders bobbing up and down as she makes such a claim. He walks away from Salem towards her and he holds his sword, as he always does, in his right hand. Dark smoke trails from the blade of Ferrum Arctus.

"And why did it belong to you?" Death asks her with a tilted head.

"She did this to me." Cinder implies with her hand pointing to the patch that covers her damaged face. Death stares into her soul and Salem still has said nothing, she just observes to see what will happen next. Or to make sure that Death does not go too far.

"Aye...and you murdered Pyrrha Nikos, her friend – and was responsible for the death of Penny Polendina and the destruction of her home. I feel you losing your eye was the least you deserved." Death states, chillingly taking the side of the heroes in this situation.

"What should that matter? We made a deal! I was the one to kill her!" Cinder yells, this time staring directly at Salem with a furious expression in her amber eye.

"And that means you earned the right to take her life?" Death says sarcastically.

Cinder shrieks in anger, pulling her arm back. Fire ignites around her fist to form a fireball that she intends to throw at him. Death suddenly swings his sword right across her chest, the impact launches her onto the table, and he steps onto it, towering above her. He watches as her orange aura flickers over her. He managed to disable her in one attack...the Fall Maiden. "What a pathetic little creature you are." Death says to her. He presses his metal boot down on her chest and she strains, groaning in pain and annoyance. He pushes down, leaning down to stare her straight in her amber eyes with his red glowing eye shaped auras.

"Yes! I've been waiting for someone to dispatch her once and for all!" Watts maniacally says with a gritted smirk on his face.

Cinder screams, thrashing at him but to no avail, and Death is doing all of this for one purpose.

To make Cinder look weak.

Death snarls deeply. "If you were actually worthy of something, then you would have killed her by now." Death states. "You had the chance before you had the Fall Maiden's strength and you failed. You could not kill her when you killed Pyrrha Nikos." Death lists. "You could not even kill her when you had the chance recently, before you lost the fight to her sister." Death states with disappointment. "The two times I have encountered the girl, I have had the chance to kill her, but Corvus always gets in the way." Death says to her. Emerald and Mercury watch the event carefully as Death could easily kill Cinder right now and that will leave them purposeless to Salem. "But not this time."

"Death...that's enough." Salem requests with a lift of the hand. Death glares at Cinder, pressing the blade of Ferrum Arctus to her throat, scraping it against the skin, drawing blood. He still has not obeyed her command. "Death! I said that's enough." Salem demands again. Death still does not step off Cinder. It is true, he does not serve Salem, for whatever reason...perhaps he is stronger than her? But eventually he lays off her, taking the blade from her throat.

"You disappoint me, Cinder. Pyrrha Nikos would have made a fine Fall Maiden." Death states, turning and walking away from her, leaving her enraged as he returns to Salem's side. She coughs in pain, feeling the harmless cut that Death gave her.

"You're lucky, that's the least he would have given." Emerald whispers.

"No point whispering, I can hear every word that you are saying." Death promises as he stands there.

"That's not creepy at all." Mercury groans, which makes Emerald look at him with scared eyes. Death turns and walks around the room, returning to his old position with his sword against the floor. Salem turns to Death.

"She is still alive?" Salem asks.

"Indeed." Death coldly says, showing little emotion as he always does. Cinder sits in the chair, crossing one leg over the other as her aura recovers from Death's attack. "Tyrian Callows has informed me that he is going after her. The Jaune Arc boy had her, but we lost sight of her. Perhaps he can locate her."

"What of the Arc boy?" Death asks.

"Dead." Death says.

Salem nods her head, turning and walking back to the table with her hands clasped together. She sits down in her chair and she exhales. "The plan is proceeding beautifully, are you certain that Jaune Arc is dead?" She asks him.

"I returned to the last known location...all I found was this." He says, holding the sash that was plunged into the ground and it is coated with blood. "I did not sense any life signs in the area; he is either dead or going to be soon. Either way...dead." Death answers.

"Then we have killed many Huntsman and Huntresses today...destroyed Haven..." She looks forward and sees the doors opening as Fear emerges, throwing Oscar down onto the floor where the cane drops from his hand. Oscar shudders in terror as he looks up, seeing Salem standing up to see him. He has cuts and bruises on his face from his time with Fear, and the constant time amongst him makes him constantly shake in fear.

"And have acquired two Relics...and the boy connected to an old friend of ours." Fear says to Salem. Salem looks at Fear curiously.

"Who?" Salem asks.

"Dear Ozpin." Fear answers, almost mocking the way that she said it once. Salem lets that pass and she stares down at Oscar, crouching down to look him in the eyes.

"Ozpin..." She coldly says.

Oscar looks at her with fear in his eyes, and he hears Ozpin speak. Salem can hear him just as the Knights can. "What have you become?" Ozpin asks with a shred of sympathy in his voice.

"I am what I am because of your sins, Ozpin." She snarls in anger. She stand back up, her eyes glowing bright red. She then sees another person entering the building behind Fear.

"I also picked up this trash along the way, as well." Fear points out as he points his thumb at him.

It's Professor Leonardo Lionheart.

He walks over and he looks at her, the tall Grimm Human that stares at him with an untrustworthy smile on her face.

"Why hello, Lionheart." She greets.

"You asked that I come?" Lionheart nervously says as he walks inside.

"I did...I wanted to thank you for the help you have given us." She says, picking up the Relic of Creation on the table, holding it in her hand. Somehow she can hold these things, her red eyes looking down at it, glowing intensely as she looks at it. Lionheart nervously looks around, seeing Cinder looking at him.

They do recognise each other...

He lied.

Again and again he lies...

"You really are a coward." Cinder scoffs, hearing her say that is a shock to all of them. Lionheart looks at her and then looks away as he looks up at the Fractured Moon.

"I have done what we agreed upon." Lionheart begins. "Mistral is destroyed and I gave you the Relic...you have no further need of me..." He continues, aiming to continue on to leave this place. Salem stares straight at the relic, interrupting him as she turns to Death who stands behind him.

"I don't." She abruptly answers with a swift nod to Death.

His eyes widen in terror when he is too slow to stop Death grabbing him by the shoulder and plunging the blade of Ferrum Arctus straight through his spine and up his chest. The blade scrapes through flesh and bone, lifting him into the air. He is killed practically immediately from the attack and Death drops him onto the floor. Oscar, Cinder, Mercury and Emerald share the same expression.

Pure shock.

Oscar stammers in fear. "Lionheart..." Ozpin whispers in terror.

Salem reaches down and picks up Ozpin's cane and she holds her hand above the bulbous grip. The grip shifts, tiny pieces of metal disconnecting from each other and opening the chamber that holds the secret Relic inside. The relic rises into her hand, glowing bright green whilst the other glows blue. She holds them both in her hands, the light shines around her and Death steps into the shadows to avoid the light.

"I feel stronger already..." She chillingly snarls.

Jacques

An Atlesian Transport soars across the sky towards a massive Ex-Atlesian Airship. The once grey vessel is now customised with the Acolytes of Lien Colour Scheme, mostly black with red as the secondary colour and golden accents painted upon the hull. It remains above the city of Atlas, looking very out of place beside the other Atlesian Vessels. It is huge though, dwarfing the others, the huge wings blocking out the sun in the sky.

The aircraft docks in the hanger, the magnetic locks holding it in place and an airlock tube emerges for the passenger to enter the ship. The doors open, and Jacques Schnee walks out of the craft to find his allies. He walks through he holds his hands in the pockets of his white jacket.

He traverses up the stairs to find the Captain stood at the bridge with his hands behind his back. "I will admit, Jacques Schnee, you do deliver on what you promise." Ortega says to him, turning around to face him with a smirk, shaking his hand. On one of the screens is Merlot as he looks at them from wherever he is right now.

"I was expecting to meet you in person." Jacques says.

"Ah, well old chum, I must continue my work whilst we make deals." Merlot says to him as he looks at them from where he is.

"So then, what's next?" Darren asks him with crossed arms.

"Well, with Mistral and Vale out of the picture, the Knights are most likely going to focus on Vacuo next. We need to find a way to control the Grimm before that happens. Therefore, we must keep up appearances. Keep Salem thinking that we are one hundred percent on her side, but when we have the weapons we need against her, we can turn her own Knights against her." Jacques explains.

An insane idea: controlling the Knights of Grimm.

"It will be a challenge; it was a monumental undertaking to simply control a Creep, but a Knight? This will take resources." Merlot says to him.

"They will be provided. I have managed to purchase seats on the council, so eventually I will have more control over Atlas." Jacques explains.

"So we will continue to hunt down the White Fang and those kids?" Ortega presumes.

"Yes. We need to get them out of the picture; they will destroy our chances if we don't." Jacques answers.

"I heard that your daughter was gravely injured by Death." Ortega says to him.

Jacques pauses, but he eventually continues. "That just makes your job easier. Just make sure that the rest are found, especially the Silver Eyed kid." Jacques says to him.

"Death already got her, shot her eye out." Ortega says. Jacques nods his head.

"Good. Then all you have to do is find the rest and destroy the White Fang." Jacques says.

"The data of which I have collated over the years has been very useful in improving the serum. And also in improving the technology the Acolytes of Lien are able to use – at personal cost as well." He says as he touches his cybernetic eye with his metal hand.

"As long as you can get the job done, I will give you the resources and funding you need. Just hold your end of the bargain." Jacques says.

"I always keep my promises, Jacques." Merlot assures.

"Didn't you say that you want my men searching the ancient lands for anything?" Ortega asks the mad scientist.

"Oh yes! I almost forgot!" He bounces. "I have learned some valuable data, that in the wild there is an old city that has never been uncovered, near Vale and the Sanctuary. That city is said to hold many secrets that can be of use to me, especially around control. If your Mercs can find anything, send it back, I am willing to pay lien for anything that they may uncover." He explains.

Jacques looks around the ship, named Drift of Wandering Star; it is an older ship, one that has seen war since the Great War. "Where did you find this ship?" Jacques asks the captain.

"It belonged to my Great Grandfather; it was where this great Syndicate began." He says as he holds his hands out, walking around the bridge. "The Acolytes of Lien were once fighting for the people of Vacuo, we were an army, but we had enough and decided to eject from the war and continue our lives in peace. From what I was told, it worked for a while, but we were all soldiers. Trained in one art: killing. So the people once branded as The Forsaken Syndicate, became an army of Mercenaries for hire under the command of this Frigate that we stole. Our numbers grew and grew, and before we knew it, we were everywhere, taking in those who left the White Fang or just old soldiers to fight with us. But for payment, and thus the Acolytes of Lien...were born." Ortega explains.

"Fascinating..." Merlot sarcastically says.

Jacques looks back to his two allies. "We all have jobs to do...I propose we do them."

Jacques turns and leaves and the feed to Merlot's lab cuts off.

Leaving only Captain Darren Ortega at the helm of his ship. "Let's get a move on."

Behind him stand many Acolytes of Lien mercenaries, wearing tactical gear that they have customised to suit themselves. "Together, we were once all in the same boat!" He begins to the men. "Which one was that?" He asks, giving a military style speech to them, pacing back and forth on his deck.

"A boat of pity and poverty!" The men all recite in unison, their voices erupting inside.

"That's right, and that is why we serve Salem and Lien. She promises us to be free of the world of pain and being abandoned, as does the man who pays us. Those who turn against those who pay us, or are allies to our enemies, are enemies themselves. Therefore...we show them no mercy, we kill them on sight." Ortega continues with power in his tone.

"We shall grind them into dust!" They all say united. Ortega stands before them all, clenching his hand into a fist.

"And continue our march to glories and wealth!" He concludes with a cheer in his voice.

Qrow

The next village has been completely destroyed...

Smoke rising from burned out buildings and bodies laying everywhere. The Grimm attacked and left, the Knights of Grimm are destroying all life on Remnant one village at a time. Qrow carries the dying Weiss in his arms, her crimson blood covering his arms and his white shirt. She has turned pale in his arms, blood leaking from her mouth, Neptune's eyes constantly on her as Sun and Ren help him along.

Winter clenches her hand into a fist. "Goddamn it!" Winter shrieks in anger, taking her sword and sweeps her blade aggressively across the trunk of the tree, cutting it in half. The tree groans as it collapses onto the ground with force, the bang echoing across the landscape. Blake walks over to Weiss and she checks her over, her eyes are barely staying open and she groans in pain.

"There must be things here..." Neptune says weakly.

Qrow stands there, hopeless...and he knows that the bandage is of no use anymore, too much blood soaking through. Weiss moans in pain and she looks over at Blake. "I...won't be in the best form...anymore..." She weakly whispers to her friend. Blake sniffles, wiping the tear from her eye.

"Don't talk like that, we're gonna patch you up and you're gonna be fine!" Blake assures her as she holds her hand. Weiss coughs in pain, blood falling from her mouth and onto the floor. Nora holds Magnhild in her hand and she looks around, hearing the distant howls of Beowulves in the distance.

"They're still here." She says, transforming the grenade launcher into her Hammer. Winter holds her sword up, looking around with Blake beside them. Sun and Ren continue to hold Neptune up. Qrow turns when he hears a strange sound resonating from behind them. His red eyes widen when he sees who emerges.

Yang

She and Kassius walk through the woodland area outside of the city of Mistral, pillars of smoke rising into the sky where Fury's flames have consumed the city. The glow of fire has reflected against the clouds of smoke congregated in the night sky. The growl of the flames can still be heard all the way back there. Kassius still holds the injured girl in his arms, her head rested against his shoulder, the wound is still bleeding relatively badly and she still has not woken up. They continue to walk but they both stop when they hear the sound of something landing nearby.

The reverberation of metallic footfalls approaches their position and they look around to find the source of which it is coming from. Alongside the menacing approaching form is the sound of a mad cackle in the bushes. "We're being followed." Kassius whispers to Yang. Yang's large lilac eyes look around, afraid...not for her safety but for her baby sister's. She tenses her hands, loading a fresh shell into Ember Celica and her cybernetic arm transforms into her other gauntlet.

She has a tremble in her breath as she looks around, hearing the movement in the brush, something massive moving with the deep thrum of metal shifting across each other as it moves. The mad laughter of someone bolting through the bushes. Yang turns to Kassius who is still holding Ruby.

"Get her to safety...I'll lure them off." Yang whispers to him. She pumps both Ember Celicas and she fires them into the bushes when she hears the movement again. The movement begins to chase after her, Kassius reluctantly leaves her with Ruby in his arms and Yang retreats into the forest, firing her weapons behind her to try and get their attention. She continues to run and then she finds a small clearing where some trees have collapsed over the area.

She looks around, her golden hair bouncing as she walks past the toppled trees. She is shaking in fear as she hears the sounds of metallic movement around her. But no sounds of cackling, just the haunting movements of something. She twitches from every sound, like it is all around her.

Suddenly he emerges, Ferrum Arctus pointed at her with dark shadows surrounding his metal body and he approaches her, slicing a tree clean in half to walk right at her. She screams in terror, since he has done more damage to all of them than any of them have before now. She fires Ember Celica at Death as he approaches her. The shells impact his dark metal skin, deflecting off from the impact and he hardly even flinches from the impact. His glowing red eyes are fixed on her.

She backs up in fear from him and he continues to approach her with his hand clenched into a fist. She backs up, but Death suddenly stretches out his hand, right at her. Yang freezes in her stance and she cannot move, only able to move her face. Yang has never felt such fear before, after seeing what he is capable of after he attacked them when Loss and Fury were taken out in the battle. She tries to break free from his hold but she can't.

He is growing stronger...

Every aura he consumes the stronger he becomes.

Death approaches her slowly with Ferrum Arctus gripped in his hand. "Draco Parum Serenum..." He says, speaking ancient tongue to say sunny little dragon. "We finally get to speak out of combat." He coldly says, staring straight at her with emotionless red eyes.

"What...what do you...want?" Yang stammers.

Death walks to her shoulder, standing behind her. "Argentum Natus." He says in his terrifying voice. "Your sister..." He adds. He turns round, pressing the blade of Ferrum Arctus to her cheek. Yang's eyes widen in pure fear. "Where is she?" Death demands, his eyes glowing bright red as he glares at her. Yang can hear the chilling screams of those that he has claimed within the blade of his dark blade, even Sage and Scarlet can be hear wailing from torture in his command. Yang looks at it in horror. "Do you hear them?" Death asks her.

"Let them rest..." She begs.

"Life is a tool...one that I will use to end it." He says to her with villainous intent. "All in life is choice...you have one before you." He coldly says. Yang musters her strength and her bravery against him as she hears their screams of horror, including the screams of Lionheart and team A.B.R.N inside of the blade and she blocks it all out.

"Help us!" Scarlet screams inside of the blade.

She shakes it off and looks back at him. "Over my dead body." Yang snarls at him. Death stands there, silent and then an audible sigh emerges from the mask, pulling the blade from her face.

"That can be arranged." He says. He lifts the blade up to swing it right into her neck to end her life. But then he hears the scream of Tyrian not far.

"I've found the girl!" Tyrian yells. He stops the blade right by her neck and he looks over his shoulder at where he yelled. His head turns to Yang; the he lowers the sword down.

"Your aura will belong to me...but not today." He says, turning from her with the swing of his sword, creating a metallic thrum from its movement. He then releases Yang, releasing her soul from his grip. She nearly collapses onto the floor, using her hands to stop her collapse. She gasps, turning when Death spreads his black wings and takes off into the air. He glides over the trees to find Tyrian and she chases after him.

She runs through the bushes and as she returns to where Kassius was, she sees Death grab him by the throat and throw him straight into a tree from Ruby. Kassius grunts in pain as he hits the tree, shards of bark snapping and falling around him. The Cyborg rolls across the floor and he looks up when he sees Death stood there.

Ruby is vulnerable.

Tyrian stands above her and he smirks. "The Queen would like to have a word with you." Tyrian chuckles.

"No!" Yang screams as Tyrian picks her body up. She runs as fast as she can to get to him. "No!" She repeats, screaming over and over again. "Let her go!" She begs. Death waves his hand before them both, forming a similar portal to that of Raven's, except his is completely black with smoke trailing from its internals. Tyrian laughs maniacally as he carries her and they both walk towards it. Yang leaps at Death but as soon as she does, he vanishes with Tyrian into the event horizon of the portal. It collapses just as she jumps toward it and she rolls onto the grass.

Ruby is gone...

Yang remains on her knees and she throws her hands into her head. "Ruby!" She wails in horror, crumpling down onto the floor from failure, sniffling. Kassius stands back up, his eyes wide and mouth agape.

Salem has Ruby.

He reaches out to Yang and he helps her back to her feet.

The sound of Bullheads grows and grows as they stand there. The Acolytes of Lien are coming for them.

Whitley

He waltzes around the office that belongs to his father, the door opens and Jacques enters, seeing the boy walking around with his hands behind his back as always. Jacques looks at him and then returns to his table. "How is the business?" Jacques asks him, instead of even bothering how his son is actually feeling. Always mind on business.

"Profits are exceeding as expected, and the balance is perfect." He explains to him.

"Excellent, you will grow up to be a fantastic Entrepreneur." Jacques compliments, probably the kindest thing he has ever said to a family member, despite that it is still related to the business in some sense. Now that his son has the Schnee Fortune in his name, he can actually connect with his child, as he attempted to with Weiss after Beacon. But he failed to indoctrinate her into believing in his selfish ideals, she wants to be a hero, to help the little people that were never as fortunate as she is.

And she is dying right now while they play business in Atlas. "I try." Whitley gleefully perches. "What did Merlot and Ortega tell you?" He asks, it also seems that his father is actually involving him in his criminal lifestyle as well.

"Turns out that your sister has been wounded by Death, and that her leader has been injured as well." Jacques says. "I guess that means the Knights may make our jobs easier. We just need to keep on acting like we are on Salem's side until we can control her forces and turn them against her." Jacques explains.

"What about the Faunus? Still plan to control them as staff?" He asks him.

"Of course, for they are just as much animals as the Grimm are." He states with a shrug of his shoulders. Blake is right; the discrimination that her race suffers from will not fade whilst men like him still exist in the world. Whitley smirks menacingly.

"Doesn't team R.W.B.Y have a Faunus member?" Whitley asks.

"I think so...I have heard she used to be a high ranking White Fang member." Jacques says with a chuckle.

"Am I able to use my experiment to take them down?" Whitley asks him with excitement, revealing some sort of secret that he has been working on.

"Project Deimos is not ready yet. When it is ready and the time is right, you can get your payback on Weiss and Winter, I promise." Jacques assures, his ways of talking about his own daughters is absolutely sickening. He speaks of them like they are not actually people now, like they are just Creatures of Grimm to be exterminated. They are his own blood...and he treats them this way.

Whitley sighs as he looks at the floor.

Jacques clasps his hands together. "It is an impressive undertaking however." Jacques says, pressing a button.

The projector opens, releasing the holographic blueprint of Project Deimos. It is an Atlesian Mechanised Suit, similar to the Atlesian Paladin Exo-Suit, but this is far more unique. It is taller than the Paladin and less wide, resembling the shape of a soldier. Very similar to the Giant Armour that Weiss fought, but made in this form. It is planned to be made of titanium steel alloy and used many forms of Dust, and from what the suit seems to plan to have incorporated into it is the ability to create Glyphs as the Schnees could do from their family tree. It can be piloted, and as the animation shows, it is very fluent and can be used in great combat situations. Whitley lied to Weiss, he is jealous of her abilities, of Winter's abilities.

He wants to use the suit to kill his sisters and anyone else that stands in their way. "But...it is not ready yet. Merlot has offered assistance in building it." Jacques says to him.

"Help is always accepted." Whitley says with a bow. Jacques smirks menacingly.

"Go on, son, I'm sure you may have better things to do." Jacques dismisses.

"Of course father." He bows once more. Whitley turns with a large step, leaving the office. He closes the door behind him, the room dreadfully cold. He turns and sees Klein stood there, looking at him with disgust. Klein turns to walk away from him but Whitley stops him with one statement. "I know what you did, Klein." Whitley states. Klein stops and his eyes turn red for a split second, but he calms down and returns to his usual personality.

"Whatever do you mean, Master Whitley?" Klein asks him, with his constant upbeat personality. Whitley remains cold, just like his father.

"I know you are the one that helped Weiss escape. Just as you helped Winter." He reveals. Klein remains quiet and Whitley turns to walk away.

"Someone needs to be family to the two girls, boy." He snarls, changing his personality. Whitley is shocked from the fact that he calls him boy instead of master. Klein says no more, leaving him with a walk down the hallway. Whitley looks back at the servant with angry eyes. He continues on...wishing for his own sisters dead.

Ironwood

He has been stripped of his rank.

Left to rot in a cell. He sits in the dark with his arm rested on his knees. His metal hand flexes as he sits there, hearing the soldiers conversing as they walk past the cell that he remains in. He is left to think about things, things he could have done differently. Could he have saved Vale and Beacon from Cinder faster? Could he have done something about Mistral? Why didn't he see the traitor that lived very near to where he lives?

So many questions with no answers to be given. He clenches his cybernetic hand into a fist to punch the door from its hinges, but he stops, remembering what happened last time. There are shock charges inside the cell, and if he tries anything, it will fry him. It has already happened to him once, who knows if they will hold it down for longer this time. He has never noticed that the Acolytes of Lien have managed to worm their way into his army and that a businessman has managed to take his place through money.

Who knows what will happen next?

He remains there, listening to the soldiers outside his cell talking. "Did you hear?" One of them asks.

"Hear what?" The other responds.

"Mistral has stopped reporting in." He answers.

"For real?" He questions.

"Yeah." The guard states.

"By the gods..." He gasps. They continue to talk and Ironwood remains inside, but then someone approaches the cell.

"Excuse me, but could I speak with the General?" A man asks them.

"Sorry, sir, but we can't let anyone speak with the prisoner without direct orders from Mr Schnee." The Guard says, Ironwood listens carefully.

"I am his servant, he has asked me to speak to him." Klein says to them both. The soldiers look at each other and then they sigh, turning and walking away. Ironwood stands up sharply, recognising the wise voice very quickly and he walks up to the cell door as the slider opens up. He looks out and he sees the short man looking at him.

"Klein?" Ironwood questions in confusion at this situation.

"I need to talk to you." Klein says to him.

"Can you get me out?" Ironwood asks.

"Not yet, I need to find out how to contact Winter Schnee...I hear about Weiss being injured by that Knight. Those girls are like daughters to me, I need to know that they are safe. We are both in the dark, if I can get information out from them to you, we can try and help." Klein explains.

Ironwood quickly catches onto the fact that he has not been sent by Jacques. "Jacques didn't send you..." He presumes.

"No. He is no father...if I can help them I will try. And I will try and get you out as well. But Whitley knows I helped Weiss escape, he will suspect." Klein explains.

"I can wait." Ironwood promises.

"Thank you." Klein kindly responds.

"If you go to my office, there is a direct feed to her. Hopefully she can respond if she is still alive." Ironwood explains.

"I will get you out, I promise. We just need to know what we are up against." Klein says with a nod. Ironwood sighs and he nods back to Klein as Klein shuts the slider when the Guards return to their posts. Klein walks down the hallway, he is the only feed of information that the Schnees have left on what is happening here, but he must be careful. Jacques and Whitley Schnee have lost their way.

Klein

Klein walks away from his cell as the Guards return and he looks around, he can see more and more soldiers that have either been bribed by Jacques or Acolytes disguised as them walking the halls, armed with rifles. He carefully walks around, acting as casually as he possibly can. But on his journey to find Ironwood's office, he stops when he looks through the window at the garden.

There is a tall and beautiful late middle aged woman sat in the garden with a glass of wine in her hand, drinking away. Her long white hair blows in the wind, she just looks at the hedges that have been cut into the shapes of King Taijitu and Beowulves. She wears a crystal white dress that surrounds her legs and has a fluffy collar around it. It holds the Schnee Symbol on the back, twinkling like the snow that she sits around. He sighs and he walks through the doors after going down the stairs to approach her. Wrinkles have formed on her face and her large blue eyes look at the bushes, almost zoning out as she sits there. He looks at her with a sigh, putting his hands behind his back. "Miss Schnee?" Klein greets.

She turns, she is tearful when she looks at her dear friend.

"Klein..." She weakly says, she has a very soft, almost frail, voice as she speaks. She has been drinking for a long time, because the scars of alcohol have formed on her skin.

"Willow..." He says as he approaches her side. "Why do you continue to drink out here?" Klein asks her.

Willow lets a sharp exhale escape her lungs. "My daughter..." She sniffles. "I heard about what happened to her..." Klein closes his eyes and he looks away, she does love her children but her husband has caused her to drink constantly. "I have let myself marry a monster, Klein...I thought he was more..." She says to him.

"We all did." Klein agrees. "It is not your fault, if it were not for you meeting him, your two snowflakes would never have been born." Klein explains.

"What about Whitley? He could have been good but his damn father has poisoned his mind, making him hate his own siblings." Willow sniffles as she wipes the tears from her eyes. "What kind of mother does that make me? Because of my stupid decisions when I was a young girl...I slept with a man who has now destroyed the Schnee Family Name!" She shouts in anger at her own past, taking the glass and throwing it at the fountain. The glass explodes into shards, the red wine splashing everywhere.

Klein reaches out to the crying mother who hates herself for something that she had no part in playing. "And now my own daughter is dying...could be dead for all I know...and he shrugs it off because she wants to follow the path of her forefathers?" She scoffs in disgust.

"You mustn't blame yourself, Willow. Jacques...was not always a cruel man. He was once a good man...but money and the Schnee Fortune, it consumed him. He wanted power after he met you, you didn't know. None of us did." Klein assures her. Willow looks at him with an affectionate smile.

"You've always been such a dear member of our family, Klein..." She gently says. "You've been a better father to those girls than their real dad." She says.

"They deserve happiness." Klein points out with a simple shrug of the shoulders.

"Can you find out if she is okay?" She asks him.

"That's what I plan to do." Klein promises. "I just need to find out how." He says to her. Willow smiles.

"Thank you..." Willow says, sitting back down.

Klein turns from Willow Schnee and he walks back into the Schnee Residence, looking around as he walks into the halls. He walks down the halls, looking down the different paths that are available and there are soldiers everywhere, their weapons at the ready. Directly ahead is the office that he has been using every now and then when he comes by to speak to Jacques. He approaches and he looks down the halls.

He is clear.

He grabs the handle and pushes it down. The door is open, luckily and he shuts it behind him, promptly locking it.

Yang

Yang and Kassius sprint through the woods to escape the clutches of the Acolytes of Lien. Bullheads with machine guns built into the side of the troop bays open fire on them, launching bullets down into the soil to go after them. Yang's vision is obscured by the tears that blind her as she runs. All that goes through her mind is Ruby and whatever fate that awaits her in the claws of Salem and the Knights of Grimm.

They both run as fast as they can until a pair of Armoured Trucks smash through the trees and they block their escape, trapping them as more soldiers emerge behind them. They all point their weapons at them, and they both calculate their chances of success against these guys. "There's too many." Kassius says to her as he puts his hands behind his head. Yang is reluctant.

"Listen to your boyfriend, Blondie." One of the soldiers demands. She scowls at him but Kassius looks up at her as he drops to his knees. She trusts him with her life, so she sighs, putting her hands behind her head and she slowly drops to her knees beside him as the Acolytes surround them, aiming their assault rifles, shotguns and machine guns at them. "That's good." The soldier chuckles.

"I like her, she's pretty." One of the soldiers creepily says behind Yang. Yang looks at him.

"Try it, pal. I'll make it worth your while." She smirks sarcastically.

One of the soldiers suddenly punches her right across the face with force and she yelps from the impact. Kassius yells in anger, lunging at the soldier, but a soldier wearing an Exo-Suit presses his boot down on his back, pushing his face into the dirt. "Don't try it, pretty boy." He scoffs.

Yang laughs a little from the punch, staring at the soldier who did that. "You're gonna pay for that." Yang promises.

He has no idea of what is forming behind him, and at first, neither do Yang or Kassius. There is a flash of red light behind him and he does not notice. "The boss is gonna like this." He says to them all. None of the soldiers notice the red Odachi that thrashes right across his neck, beheading the soldier in one swing.

Blood erupts from his neck, his head falling from his shoulders and rolling across the floor. Everyone turns and gasps when they hear his body collapse. Yang and Kassius gasp when they see her stood there, throwing the blood from the red blade. Yang laughs quietly as she sees her black hair blowing in the wind and she sheathes her Odachi before the soldiers.

"You boys are in trouble now..." Yang giggles with a big smile on her face. "Gentlemen, say hello to my mom. Raven Branwen." Yang introduces. The soldiers stammer in fear at her presence, their weapons held high.

"Hitting my daughter...was a bad move. Brothers and Sisters, remove this scum from my face." She orders.

More red portals suddenly open and a bunch of Warriors sprint out from them with weapons designed with the same style of red energy as her Odachi. They also wear the same colour scheme as Raven, meaning that they are also from the same Tribe, wearing similar helmets. They all attack the soldiers, one of them draws a bow and arrow, and launching three arrows at once that kills three soldiers in one attack.

Another Clan Member sprints at the soldiers, leaping into the air and throwing a tomahawk straight into a guard's chest. He lands in front of him, ripping the axe from his chest and smashing it through the skull of another soldier. Raven stabs her Odachi through the chest of the soldier that had his boot pressed down on Kassius' back. Dirt covers half his face. The Tribe manage to wipe out the forces that captured the two lovers and after a few minutes, it is just the Clan and them.

Yang stands back up with Kassius and she looks at her Mother as she sheathes her sword. Raven immediately wraps her arms around her daughter, holding her tight. She even hugs Kassius, which catches him off guard from it. But if she really did watch over her baby girl, then it means that she knows of Kassius and how he always looked after her during the tough times. She looks at them both with a smile. "I said I'd come back." Raven says.

"Yeah...just wish it were under better circumstances." Yang says. "We need to find Ruby." She immediately says.

"Where is she?" Raven asks her.

"Death shot her eye out and he captured her with that lunatic, Tyrian." Yang explains to her. Raven lifts her finger up to shush her daughter.

"Ssh." She gently shushes. "We can discuss this at our home." She says. She nods to her clan members, and they all form their own portals, running into them. Kassius looks at her, picking Lash Equinox back up and deactivating them, putting them back onto the magnetic strips of metal on his legs so they do not fall off. She draws her Odachi and she swings it behind her, forming one of the red portals behind her and she lets the two of them go first. Yang and Kassius nod, putting their faith in her hands.

They both walk towards it, and it is like a doorway. They enter it and it reveals the home of the tribe. Wherever it is, it's underground in some kind of cavern. They have built a home in here that has electricity and is well hidden from the Grimm. There are Tribesmen everywhere in here, tending to the wounds of their comrades.

Even White Fang members are here as well, fixing their wounds. Survivors from Mistral, Thara is here with them. Yang looks back at her mother as the portal closes behind her. "You've been saving people, keeping them safe?" Yang asks.

"When survival of the fittest has been your belief for your entire life...and suddenly you are the prey? It changes your views on the weaker people." Raven states to her. "We need as many people alive as we can right now, we can't let Death or the other Knights win." Raven explains. Kassius and Yang follow her.

"Did you find the others? Qrow, Weiss, Neptune?" Kassius lists. Before he can list any more names, they both stop and their eyes widen in disbelief when they see Qrow and all of them inside of a hospital. A Tribeswoman is stood over Weiss on a bed, tending to her injury with a blood bag and I.V attached to her body, her pulse is steady. Nora's eyes widen and Blake gasps in amazement.

Blake sprints to Yang, hugging her as she approaches him, holding her tight with a cry of happiness to see her alive. Qrow smiles when he sees Raven stood there, and she smiles back. Kassius walks over to Sun, catching his hand and bringing in a friendly hug, patting his back. They all reconnect after what happened there and Neptune smiles, waving to the two of them. They have been tending to his legs as well. There are lots of screams in here, but they are screams of pain being dealt with to help people survive the destruction of Mistral.

Yang sniffles as she looks at her Faunus friend. "Are you alright?" Blake asks her.

"Are you?" Yang asks.

"I asked you first." Blake backtracks.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Yang stammers.

"So am I." Blake finally answers.

Yang then looks at Weiss, she is in a bed with the cover over her body, asleep right now. "Is she going to be okay?" Yang asks the nurse.

"We've fixed worse injuries from Death. She'll make it." The nurse promises. Weiss moans as she wakes up slowly and her large blue eyes look and they see Yang's purple ones.

"Yang?" Weiss whispers weakly. Yang immediately hugs her.

"I'm so glad you're okay!" Yang sniffles with happiness.

"And I you..." Weiss says, but she looks around, noticing that Ruby is not with her. Not hearing her overly enthusiastic voice is always bizarre to her. Which means that she will have to break the news soon. "Where's Ruby?" Weiss asks her. Yang's eyes well up and everyone looks at her for answers, dreading to hear the worst.

"Yang...what happened?" Qrow asks nervously, wanting to know if his daughter is alive and well. She stammers to answer.

"Death shot her eye out." Yang stutters. They all gasp in horror when she says that, Blake covers her mouth in horror and Nora tightens her grip on Magnhild.

"What?" Blake stammers.

"Jaune carried her out but he went missing. We found her, he must have hidden her from the Acolytes because there were soldiers looking for her. Death shot an arrow and it must have just caught her eye, because her eye is gone..." Yang sniffles, breaking into tears as she explains. Kassius takes over as he holds her close, giving her a shoulder to cry onto.

"We had her, but Death and Tyrian were there. They both took her and we lost her. Salem has her now." Kassius explains to finish it for Yang. Qrow yells in anger, punching the wall with his fist.

"Then we get her back." Sun says as he looks at them. Despite everything that he lost in that battle at Mistral, he is still ready to help them all. Even after Sage and Scarlet...he will still help.

"Hell yeah." Neptune agrees.

"Where do we start?" Ren asks with a shrug.

"We need to find out information of where Salem's Sanctuary could be." Kassius says to them all.

"I think might be able to help with that." Raven says.

Death

The black portal bursts open, Tyrian steps out first and he throws Ruby onto the floor, despite her condition. Cinder's eyes widen in disbelief when she sees Ruby on the floor, the damage done to her adorable face actually makes her sympathise with her. Emerald and Mercury look at her on the floor where Tyrian threw her. He bows before Salem as she approaches him. "Sorry for the late delivery, my Queen." Tyrian says to her. Salem looks down at her body on the floor and then at Tyrian. Death stands to the left of Tyrian with his sword pressed down into the floor.

"You have redeemed yourself, Tyrian. But this is no place for our guest, take her to a cell where she can be kept. We will put a patch on that wound later." Salem assures. Tyrian loyally bows again, picking her up and walking away from Salem. Cinder stands there, looking at Salem as she stands there. Salem turns and looks at her.

"What now?" Cinder asks.

"We continue with the plan." Salem says. "Continue the search for the Spring Maiden, the next Relics will be uncovered. Go get ready, Cinder. The search will begin soon." Salem orders. Cinder gets up and she walks out of the room with Emerald and Mercury, leaving Salem with Death where he stands. Salem walks towards Death, by his shoulder.

Death says nothing. "I know you will do what must be done, Death." Salem says to him, placing her hand on his shoulder. "You always have." Salem says, walking away with him.

Death remains still as she leaves the room and the doors close behind her. A new side to Death is unveiled as a deep, menacing laugh emerges from the mask. "Yes..." Death quietly says, his head slowly rising up as he remains stood with the blade of Ferrum Arctus pierced through the stone, darkness trailing from his armoured form.

"I do..." Death concludes.

That's when a creepy whistle appears behind him and he turns his head slightly to see a dark silhouette stood there with its hands clasped together and a pair of glowing red eyes focused on the Knight.

And for the first time.

Death looks so intimidated by it.

"Everything is going according to plan, my disciple..." The entity says.

"I know..." He sighs.

Death looks down at the ground, clenching his hand into a fist with defeat. "When will it end?" He asks.

"Soon..." It replies.

Before disappearing just as mysteriously as it arrived.

"Good..." Death sighs, picking Ferrum Arctus back up, as he hears the whistling echo through his mind.

Transforming into the words of some sort of creepy song.

"A grin as candid as children, as sweet as bee honey,"

"His voice kind and sharp, as the blade of a razor,"

"Brings you from elder to youth, within the blink of an eye."

"Wishes be granted, be it: love, riches or luck,"

"His face like a mirror, fear shall consume you,"

"Anger through truth, loss through acceptance."

"For the end of your journey, Death will come for you,"

"Charcoal Cities, come waiting for you,"

"The Soothsayer shall wait, for his voice will control you,"

"Torment and Control, till the moon will shatter."

To be Continued...

In Act 2: Captured

Author Note - And THUS! Act 1 Revisited is complete and I am so much more satisfied with this version of it compared to when I finished the original. All thanks to the feedback I received, this one just flowed way better and the chapters were not as baby lengthed as they used to be. And I feel that after tweaking the final part of the Act it flows into the main plot way better, since originally Death was the main villain.

But as you saw there, and as up to date readers would know - that is not the case after all.

To those of you that are new, I cannot wait to hear what you think of the following Acts - because they just continue to get better and better as it goes on. And please don't be afraid to tell me of any areas of which you feel could be improved in the future. I am not going to completely rewrite Act 2 but if you find areas of improvement I will act on it. That is what that document I made is for after all.

Please review, favourite and follow if you enjoyed! And I hope you enjoy catching up on the rest of the story!

Thanks for reading!

- Matt