UFF Territory

UFF Primary Operations Room

02:25 hours

The room is chaos. The technicians at their stations frantically shout at each other, reporting what they see on their screens.

"...Trajectory is unchanged, moving south by southeast, two, one, niner…"

"...Deploy aircraft in the area to intercept…"

"I can't raise Netvorville, can anyone raise Netvorville…"

"Does anyone know if we're claiming responsibility!?"

"Someone get me the goddamn asshole in charge of the southern silos on the line or else…"

All of it is due to what's being projected on the largest screen at the far end of the room. A map of Remnant covering the area between Atlas and the Federation, and one little red line, starting at the center of Atlas and growing towards Federation territory. It's already almost a third of the way to UFF borders.

Projected destination: Netvorville.

"Does anyone know if it's nuclear!?" the officer in charge, a Major, shouts. He's just as bewildered as his soldiers. Less than three hours ago, the room was quiet. The war was boring for them. Now, one nuke has reportedly devastated Atlas, and now Atlas has sent something their way. This was supposed to be a non-nuclear war. The Major thought this day would never come.

"Sensors are getting confirmation now, standby!" a technician shouts.

"Everyone quiet!" the major shouts. The shouting dies down, and all heads turn to the technician, hands clasped over his headset. After a few seconds, his head snaps to face the Major.

"It's nuclear."

All heads turn to the Major. He closes his eyes and takes a deep breath.

"Show time," he thinks.

"Ok," he says out loud. "Scramble all available fighters to intercept it. Prepare all surface to air missiles in range of its trajectory...Put all silos on standby."

"Do we have the authorization for that, Major?" a technician asks. The room slowly returns to its busy sounds as the technicians work to prepare their country for nuclear warfare.

"We won't launch until the silos get confirmation, but they'll be ready when they do. Anymore warheads on radar?"

"Negative, just the one."

"We'll assume they're planning on launching the rest after hitting Netvorville. Notify the fleet in the area to spread out and prepare for attack. Prepare all units inside the blast radius to assist the local populations." The phone in front of his station rings. He quickly picks it up. "Prime Ops," he answers, still staring at multiple screens. "Yes, Sir. No, Sir."

As the person on the other end continues talking, his eyes slowly drift from the screen around him to the floor, then to the big screen in front of him, the red line slowly crawling to its destination.

"Sir…" he says timidly, then gulps. "Yes, Sir. Yes, Sir. So am I, Sir." He slowly hangs up.

"Uh, Sir?" a technician says to him.

"Stand down," the Major says. The room freezes.

"Sir?" the technician that confirmed the nuke says.

"Stand down the silos. Stand down the fighters. Everything stand down."

"That's a nuke, Sir!"

"That was the President, Sergeant. And that," he points at the red line. "Is how the humans negotiate. It's to get back at us for Atlas. We're letting it fall."

"We...we let Netvorville be destroyed?"

"The population is being moved to the bunkers, they should all survive the blast. But...the city will be destroyed.

"We don't even know who nuked Atlas!"

"We have a duty to uphold!"

"Fuck this!" the technician next to the Major shouts, and reaches for the phone. The Major shoves him back.

"Yeah, we can still do it!" a technician a few rows ahead of the Major shouts, standing up. The Major takes out his GSh-18 and shoots at the technician, it misses, shattering a screen and throwing sparks. The shouting instantly stops, and everyone in the room freezes.

"Everyone stand down now!" the Major shouts. His face is bright red. "We have no choice! The Coalition just got nuked and want to get even! If we retaliate, the humans will launch every nuke they have at us, and we'll do the same! No one will survive! This way we have a chance!"

"But Netvorville-" someone objects.

"I fucking know it's Netvorville! I was born there! I want to launch the nukes too! But we can't, or else we kill everyone! Now stand the fuck down!"

The room is deathly quiet. The Major holsters his weapon and stares at the screen, hands gripping the top of the control panel. The technicians slowly slump down in their seats. A few cry. A few stifle nervous laughter. A couple grip their chests and leave the room. But those that stay end up doing the same as the Major: watching. Watching the little red line, the most significant red line in the history of Remnant, slowly, over the course of a painful half hour, travel across their nation that they've sworn to protect, as they sit idly by. The line eventually stops over the largest dot on the map.

Across the country, Netvorville burns.

HCS Airwalker

Infirmary

Psychiatry Ward

02:40 hours

Ozpin looks through the small window at his Hunter, sitting in the center of a padded cell, tied up in a straitjacket. Her skin is pale white, her hair matted down by sweat. A bandage covers the back of her neck. Her eyes are open, not overly alert like Penny, just hanging open, looking at the cushioned floor. This is the first time she stopped kicking, punching, attacking anything in sight, including herself, since regaining consciousness.

"To be honest, Ozpin," Oobleck says, standing next to him, holding a scroll. "I'm not sure what to expect. The PAWNN was still active when I removed it, unlike Penny's. It made her resist the sedative, her body was trying to wake up the whole time. I almost didn't want to risk the surgery, but I didn't have any other choice. She was still fighting when she woke up, maybe from reflex, maybe the effects of the PAWNN take time to wear off, I'm not sure. She seems stable now, but I'm not sure what kind of damage has been done to her mind. Penny experienced memory loss, we can expect that. I can't say for sure how she'll heal long term. Months of therapy, medication. As of now, I don't see her returning to combat again..."

Ozpin only listens to his words, his eyes always lay on Ruby. Ruby barely moves a muscle, her arms hanging limply in their criss crossed sleeves. Sweat drips from her face and hair.

"Can I talk to her?" he asks.

"You can try," Oobleck replies. "She hasn't talked to anyone yet."

Ozpin presses the button below the window.

"Ruby," he says. Ruby's head jerks up with a gasp, less from surprise, more from exhaustion. "It's General Ozpin." There's a silence.

"Hey," Ruby whispers. Ozpin isn't sure what he can say. "Are you ok?" "What do you remember?" "How are you feeling?" Those things mean nothing in Ruby's world.

"You're going to be ok," he says.

"What did I do?" Ruby asks with a tremor in her throat. "I don't know if I-"

"You didn't kill anyone," Ozpin says. Ruby hangs her head.

"I remember the bomb," she mutters.

"There was nothing you could have done," Ozpin says. "It was going to go off no matter what. You're alive, that's what matters."

"I could've," Ruby whispers. "It was like I was in a box, trapped. I could still control my body, but my mind...I let it happen."

"Penny has said similar things. We know you had no choice-"

"I could've fought it. I should've. It was just so...loud. I was too scared, I just let it happen. And now millions are dead, and I can't even remember-"

She stops and looks up when she hears the door open. Ozpin walks over to her and kneels down. He brushes the damp hair out of her eyes, still stark grey, seemingly the only thing that hasn't changed about her.

"Private Rose…" Ozpin says slowly. He thinks back to when he was her age, back in the trenches. Back to when he was just a kid, like her. Just a hungry, tired, scared kid. Did he look as old back then as Ruby does now? "You're too good for this war. It is an honor to serve with you." Ruby slowly nods.

"Hey Oz," Qrow says from the intercom. "She's got more visitors." Ozpin raises his eyebrows at Ruby.

"I want to see them," she says. "And, um...thanks. It's an honor, too, Sir." Ozpin stands up, salutes, then quickly leaves the room. Outside the window stands Qrow, Blake, Weiss, and Yang. Glynda, JNPR, SSSN, and Velvet stand behind them.

"Get her out of that jacket," Ozpin orders. Blake and Weiss quickly walk in, embracing Ruby and working the straps on the straitjacket. Ozpin turns to Glynda.

"Where's Neo?" he asks.

Brig Holding Cell 7

Ozpin storms through the cell door and walks directly to the metal table where Neo sits, every appendage strapped to her chair. She has been stripped of her weapons and AURA. The clothes she was wearing underneath her armor was ragged and falling apart, so she now wears a prison jumpsuit. Her multicolored eyes lock onto Ozpin the second he walks in.

"Out, Corporal," Ozpin bluntly orders the guard. He walks up to Neo's chair and drags it to the center of the room, scraping the floor like nails on a chalkboard. "Close the door. Nobody gets in." The guard quickly leaves.

"General-" Glynda says from outside. Ozpin knows she's watching on the other side of the mirror, but he ignores her.

"You think just because we're not animals, we're one of your kind," Ozpin says, standing directly in front of Neo. "That we would go easy on you? You spend the better part of the war helping criminals and elite Federation agents, touring Remnant, creating chaos. Attack my soldiers. Attack my base. Attack my country. Take one of my own and turn her against me. Then try to start a nuclear holocaust. All that, and you defect? Turn yourself in, just like that?"

He doesn't hesitate as he slaps her with an open palm.

"General!" Glynda shouts. Ozpin doesn't even hear her.

"Who are you!?" Ozpin shouts. "Why did you defect!? Why did you give us Ruby back, all fucked up!? Why did you betray Cinder!? What's your fucking plan!? Why do you smile!?"

He slaps her again.

"You really think you're ever going to leave this ship? You think we'll let you walk freely like Cinder just because of one act of kindness? When I'm done with you, you'll wish you didn't leave the safety of Cinder's side-"

"Ozpin!" Ironwood shouts. Ozpin finally turns around and looks at the mirror, and is horrified by what he sees in the reflection. His face is a twisted mess of red and gritted teeth. Spit hangs off of his lip. He can see the hatred in his own eyes, like he can feel them want to kill him too.

Behind him, the small, sitting girl stares at the reflection too. She's still smiling her smile, but her lip is quivering, and her fingers are shaking. Tears are flowing down her face, creating a river over her smiling face.

Ozpin takes a deep breath, swallowing whatever was leftover from his tirade.

"What?" he says.

"I have news about the nuke," Ironwood says, then adds in a deeper voice. "And you are out of there." Ozpin leaves the room without turning around, but he can still see Neo in the reflection. The guard resumes his post inside. His eyes dart between Neo and the table, as if unsure whether he's supposed to return Neo to her spot. He seems to decide to leave her there.

"Are we striking back?" Ozpin asks an obviously angry Ironwood. Ironwood waits a beat before replying.

"The Coalition has made a compromise with the Federation. Cinder was technically authorized by the Feds to use any resources available, and that extends to nuclear resources. They're taking responsibility for the attack, and are sacrificing Netvorville to even the odds."

"Sacrifice? You mean-"

"It's low-yield, not much more than the suitcase bomb Cinder used, but yes, an ICBM is going to touch down in a few minutes. Reports are coming in from every front, and it seems its triggering a ceasefire, but I doubt it'll last long, only until our governments reorganize."

"How is the Coalition?"

"Beside the ICBM, Atlas is still silent. We'll have to assume a slowdown in fighting from them for the foreseeable future. Vacuo is to start deploying their Expeditionary Force to the border in a few hours, along with a buildup by Mistral. Once they start arriving, we're to pull out and focus on Vale. We're on the complete defensive now. Get ready for a long winter."

"Does that include Fort Beacon?"

"Yes, the Airwalker is taking the whole base back to Vale by the afternoon. And...there's no easy way to say it, but Parliament has voted to disband the Hunter Program."

Ozpin doesn't say anything.

"I fought them on it," Ironwood continues. "They're pulling the plug on AURA too, tightening the budget. They aren't getting the results they were looking for. Didn't help when they found out Cinder had access to AURA. Basically trying to remove super soldiers from the war completely."

Ozpin still doesn't say anything.

"You're not going to say anything?" Ozpin shrugs.

"Can't say I blame them," he says. "Atlas is rubble now, that's on us."

"No one could've stopped Cinder," Ironwood says. He motions to Neo, but Ozpin keeps his eyes on Ironwood. "From what intel she's, uh, written down so far, Cinder was going to use the Airwalker to contaminate half the Coalition with radioactive fallout. We stopped Cinder short. No one could've done better.

"Maybe, but either way, Atlas got hit, and we were there, that means it's on us. At least Cinder is out of the race. Did they find her body?"

"Not yet, but we know she got caught in the blast. Even if she survived to the ground and made it to safety, she's poisoned for sure. She's probably dying from radiation sickness right now."

"Good."

"...What's your plan now?"

"Same as before, we fight this war until it ends." Ozpin turns around and starts walking down the hallway.

"General Ozpin!" Penny shouts as Ozpin passes her cell. She's standing at the window looking straight through the glass, directly at Ozpin. "I heard talk about a nuke. Is Ruby ok?" Ozpin hesitantly clicks the intercom button.

"Yes, she's alive."

"Oh, thank god! I know I probably can't ask to see her, but can you at least tell me if my intel helped find her?"

For all Ozpin knows, Cinder's secret paths and rendezvous that Penny was aware off were a wild goose chase for the Hunters to chase, but it doesn't matter anymore. Penny is not the enemy.

"Yes," Ozpin replies. "You kept us on the trail, Cinder had to cut corners in her plan to stay ahead of us. I'm going to look into getting you out of there."

"Thank you, General. Thank you," Penny says, then sits back down at her table. Ozpin continues walking.

Psychiatry Ward

"Not going in?" Qrow asks Yang. Blake and Weiss are sitting with Ruby, who is out of the straitjacket and in her old hoodie. Yang stands outside, looking at photographs of the woman and her sister.

"Just thinking," Yang says. She was worried that a picture of Ruby would join those in hand; just another life reduced to a memory because of war.

"You haven't asked me yet," Qrow says. "About that woman."

"Haven't really had time."

"And now?"

Yang looks at the woman. All this time, all these years. So much searching, investigating, research. It's all led up to this moment. Yang almost feels like it would be cheating to finally know the truth.

"Tell me," Yang says quietly.

"Her names is Summer. She's your mother."

"My real mother?" Yang asks. Qrow smiles, nodding. Yang looks down at the picture, and for the first time, knowingly thinks "That's my mom."

"I knew her well," Qrow continues. "We grew up together, actually. When the war started, we joined together. Assault Marines. Worst place to be as a human. Lost a lot of good friends, but we always survived. But, as the war went on, it took a bit of ourselves with it, and we drifted apart. Last I heard, she sacrificed her unit to buy the rest of the Coalition time to make a stand that would keep the Faunus out of our territory for good. She got captured herself, but according to some old intel files I found in archives, there was a reported prison break at her camp. There's no evidence, but I know that she got out."

"So she's still alive?" Qrow shrugs.

"Maybe. Now you have another reason to keep searching, huh?"

"I guess. Did you ever look for her? After the war?"

"You think I hung out in the border countries for the scenery?" Qrow smiles, and Yang smiles back. "Now go see your squad leader."

"You're not coming?"

"You guys first."

Yang takes a deep breath and pockets the pictures.

"Hey, wait," Yang says to Qrow. "What was she like? As a person?" Qrow laughs.

"Strong, loud, hot-headed, a good soldier, a better friend. Same as you. That shit's genetic." And with that, Qrow takes out his flask and walks away. Yang nods, taking it in, then walks into the room. Her three squadmates look up at her. Yang stands awkwardly.

"Hey," Ruby says. Her hair is still a mess, but she's already looking more like herself.

"Hey," Yang says, slowly sitting down in front of her. They both think back to the day they first met each other, when loud and proud Yang took the little hooded Ruby under her wing. Neither could've guessed what they'd go through together.

"So, uh," Ruby says. "What've you been up to while I was gone?"

Yang, blinks, and her eyes finally return to purple, accompanied by a stream of tears. She bear hugs Ruby, burying her face in her shoulder, stifling the crying.

"Yang, I'm right with you," Ruby says. "But I'm still kinda in pain."

"Right, sorry, sorry," Yang says, pulling back and wiping the tears away.

"Well, now that RWBY Squad is reunited," Weiss says. "What are your orders, squad leader?"

"Can we get something to eat?" Ruby says. "I don't think I've ever missed our food as much as I did while mind controlled."

"Yeah, agreed, let's get food," Yang says.

Fort Beacon

04:31

Glynda walks into her's and Ozpin's office with a box, collecting her personal items and equipment for the redeployment, and is surprised to see Ozpin standing in the center of the room, in full AURA gear and holding his rifle.

"Uh, Sir?" she says, setting the box down.

"I figured it wouldn't be a good idea to leave without letting at least one person know to not look for me."

"You're not coming with us to Vale?" Ozpin shakes his head.

"I've already briefed the Hunters," he says. "Since the Hunter Program was black ops and technically never existed, the government won't be able to act if any personnel involved, including their equipment, never showed up to Vale. Most of the Hunters are doing just that. Including myself."

"You're deserting the VAF?"

"Cinder's not dead. She's wounded, but she'll be back, and with more power than before. I've realized that our government won't do what's necessary to stop her, so I'm going to fight this war on my terms, not Parliament's."

"They'll disavow you for this. You won't be able to go to any government for support. Do you really want to fight Cinder alone?"

"All my Hunters have assured me that they'll be there if I need backup. And I assume I can count on you for intel about the war when I need it?"

"How do you know I won't go AWOL as well?"

"Someone needs to command Fort Beacon in my absence. Unless you prefer I speak to Ironwood-"

"Don't play with me, Ozpin," Glynda retorts, for once with a sliver of a smile as she says it. Ozpin chuckles and extends his hand.

"You're a damn good leader, Glynda," Ozpin says. "I know Beacon is secure with you here."

"I'll make sure of it, Ozpin," Glynda replies, shaking his hand.

Ozpin leaves Fort Beacon.

Black Dawn Forest, 40 miles SW of Fort Beacon

05:22

The sun has finally risen above the horizon, marking the end of the darkest night of the war. Rays leak through the branches onto the ground as Ozpin walks through the forest. He checks his GPS, then looks at the surrounding trees. Many of them have an X carved into the trunk. This is the place.

"I'm here," he shouts. Silence. He doesn't try again, knowing that she already knows where he his.

Sure enough, a few minutes pass, and there's a thud at a tree behind him. He turns around, and a woman in dark red and black AURA decloaks. She has deep red eyes and thick black hair.

"Ozpin," she says.

"Raven," Ozpin replies.

"Nice suit."

"Why am I not surprised that you got your hands on one?"

"Cinder isn't the only one stealing supersuits."

"Guess not. We could've done this at the base, you know." Raven shakes her head.

"That wouldn't be a good idea."

"Are you sure?" Raven glares at him.

"Are you ready?" she says.

"Where to first?"

"Where did you last see Cinder?"

Hello! Well, if you've read my previous post-chapter updates, you probably know that I've promised to bring this story to a resolution. Well, this is it. Sure, it's technically a cliffhanger, but I see it more as an end of one adventure, and the beginning of another. Nonetheless, after starting it over two years ago, I am officially putting Fort Beacon on hiatus. Sadly, I can no longer guarantee that this story will be updated in the future. I haven't kept up to date on RWBY lately, and I don't want to keep leaving the story hanging for months at a time, so I'm wrapping it up as nice as I can, and hopefully you guys enjoyed the journey while it lasted (I sure as hell did). However, I encourage you to follow this story anyway, because you never know what might pop into my head in the future (myself included). I might do some one-shot chapters, like the 2015 Christmas Special, to expand on this universe more, or I might end up getting back into RWBY and start another story arc. Who knows.

If you're wondering what I'm going to write next, I'm right there with you. This has been my main writing project since it started, and I haven't really written anything different since then. I'm probably going to experiment with some ideas and see what sticks. They're not RWBY related, but I do have a FictionPress account (same username, linked in my profile), so I might publish some of my stuff there. I've also thought about starting a writing blog, similar to these updates, about what I'm currently working on and about life in general, and see what kind of following I can generate from that.

Feel free to message me about anything, but for the time being, thank you for reading, and I hope you'll get to read my future stuff soon! :D