Seeing Red

Atlesian Military Base...

The guards watch the screen as Caroline Cordovin's Colossus is seen trying to swipe at the airship Maria Calavera and Oscar Pine are in.

"You just couldn't keep this rivalry between us, could you, Calavera?! You had to rope in children to fail with you!" Cordovin said, angrily.

The guards cheer on their boss as she fires another shot from the mech's arm cannon. Unbeknownst to them, a red dot appears on one of the radar's screens approaching Argus.

Argus...

Back at the cliffside, Ruby Rose is still holding onto Crescent Rose for dear life.

Oscar notices this from the airship, "Ruby!"

Ruby eventually makes her back up to the top of the cliff by using Crescent Rose's blade to climb back up. She regroups with Weiss Schnee, Lie Ren, and Qrow Branwen.

"Ruby, can you hear me? Are you guys okay?" Oscar asked, over the comms.

"Are we okay?!" Ruby exclaimed.

"I know, we were supposed to lay low, but listen! I think I finally found a weakness!"

"Well, we're all ears." Nora said.

Ruby and her friends notice Nora Valkyrie helping Jaune Arc over.

"Guys!" Ren said, relieved.

Ren runs over to his teammates.

"River teleported out of here." Ruby said, sadly. "I guess she wanted to make sure we were safe."

"That does make a lot of sense." Jaune said.

"The cylinder on Cordo's cannon rotates and locks in a giant Dust cartridge every time she changes attack styles." Oscar said.

"We noticed." Weiss said, annoyed.

"Right, but her missile launcher doesn't lock in, it pops out! Without her shields, one well-placed shot could detonate the missiles while they're still in the launcher!"

"We could destroy the entire cannon...Oscar, that's brilliant!" Jaune said, happily.

"Can you...make that kind of shot?" Nora asked.

"We'll only get one chance before she catches on. I'd have to be practically staring down the barrel of her cannon." Ruby said.

"Well, I've got a way to guarantee that." Maria said, flying the airship back over to Ruby's group.

She stops with the hatch doors open. Ruby runs forward.

"Ruby, what are you doing?!" Qrow exclaimed.

Ruby hops into the airship and heads off to do her part. The others watch the airship heading towards Cordo's mech. Ruby smiles at Maria and Oscar.

The mech…

One of the screens has a popup message saying 'ARGUS BASE INCOMING CALL'. Cordovin notices this, but her attention is then drawn away.

"Hey, Cordo! I've got one missile left and I know exactly where I'm gonna stick it!" Maria said, happily.

"One missile you say? That's a shame, Maria, because I have plenty!" Cordovin said, chuckling.

Cordovin has the missile launcher pop out from the mech's arm cannon while Maria continues flying toward her.

Atlesian Airship...

"ARE YOU TWO CRAZY?!" Oscar exclaimed.

"Sometimes the best approach is simply the most direct!" Maria said, happily.

As the airship moves closer, Ruby gets into position and aims at Cordovin's mech cannon. Cordovin gasps as she pulls up a screen, noticing Ruby and catching on to her plan.

Argus...

"You!" Cordovin said, through the mech.

Ruby pulls the trigger, but suddenly, the missile launcher retracts back into the arm cannon and the bullet is deflected. Everyone gasps in shock.

"You thought you could fool me?!" Cordovin exclaimed, as she readies the arm cannon again, this time about to fire a lightning Dust attack.

Atlesian Airship...

"Pull up!" Oscar said.

Maria pulls up the airship, but it still gets partially caught in the blast.

Argus...

The rest of the group on the cliff move out of the way.

Atlesian Airship...

The airship is affected by the electricity, and Maria screams in pain as her prosthetic eyes close shut.

"I can't see! My eyes!" Maria said.

"No, no, no!" Oscar said, worried.

"Take control!"

Oscar grabs the joystick as he barely gains control of the airship, "We're gonna crash! We're gonna CRASH!"

Argus...

The rest of the group emerge from the smoke on the cliffside, coughing.

"Look!" Jaune said.

The group watches as the airship crash lands into the forest. As Weiss gasps, Qrow runs and transforms into his avian form and flies over to the crash site.

At the crash site, the engines can be heard shutting down.

"We're...we're still in one piece!" Oscar said.

Suddenly, Oscar hears the stomping of Cordovin's mech. Ruby stumbles out of the airship before collapsing to her knees.

"Very clever, but even the smartest apes can't compete with the intellect of man." Cordovin said, laughing.

Ruby uses Crescent Rose to stand herself back up. She looks over to the airship to see Maria repairing her prosthetic eyes as Oscar watches in concern.

"Come on, come on!" Maria said, annoyed.

Ruby then looks toward Cordovin with a determined expression and walks forward. Suddenly, Qrow appears and takes his niece's hand.

"Ruby, stop!" Qrow said.

Ruby looks back to her uncle, still bearing her determined expression. Qrow gasps.

"I need you to trust me." Ruby said, sadly,

Qrow closes his eyes and ultimately relents as Ruby pulls her hand away. She walks to the edge of the cliff and stands face to face with Cordovin's mech.

"Surrender for your crimes, and accept your punishment." Cordovin said, through the mech.

"No!" Ruby said, defiant.

Cordovin gasps in shock as Ruby's friends look to her.

"We're going to Atlas. Bigger people than you have tried to stop us and failed, but we're supposed to be on the same side! We're supposed to use our power to protect people, but you just use yours to look down on everyone!" Ruby said, while Cordovin ponders her words. "We didn't want to steal from you. We did it because you gave us no other choice! Now I'm giving you one last chance to stand down and hear us out."

Silence for a moment.

"I've heard enough…" Cordovin said, and she aims her arm cannon at Ruby.

Ruby's friends run over to her in panic.

"Ruby!" Oscar said, reaching out to Ruby.

Qrow gains a look of horror on his face as Cordovin fires up the arm cannon. Suddenly Ruby uses her Semblance and flies into the arm cannon.

"WHAT?!" Cordovin exclaimed, through the mech.

"She's NUTS!" Nora said, watching Ruby continue flying into the arm cannon.

"The missile launcher springs out...but the raw dust gets locked in!" Jaune said, his eyes widening.

Inside the arm cannon, Ruby plants Crescent Rose into the ground and takes aim at the buildup of Dust. She fires and uses her Semblance to quickly get out of the arm cannon. Suddenly, the arm cannon explodes, covering it in ice and stone.

"What?! No! NO!" Cordovin said, through the mech.

As Ruby flies backward, her Aura runs out and falls unconscious. Her fall is slowed down by black Glyphs from Weiss, and Qrow catches his niece in his arms. Weiss collapses in exhaustion as Jaune, Ren and Nora run over to her.

"Ruby? Ruby!" Qrow said, looking down at Ruby.

Ruby opens her eyes and smiles at her uncle, "Told ya. I managed to do what Jared did two years ago. But in my own way."

The Atlesian airship's engines are coming back on as it hovers slightly above the ground.

Maria managed to fix her eyes, "Oh, don't tell me I missed it!"

Meanwhile...

"You knew you couldn't win three-on-one at Haven. What makes you so sure you can win now?" Adam asked.

"I don't have a choice. I have people who actually care about me, and I promised I'd never leave them again. So I'm not dying now." Blake said.

Yang Xiao Long and Jared Shay smile at their partner's words before glaring back at Adam.

"I went through the same route Blake went through." Jared said, looking at Adam. "I regretted leaving them. And I don't want to be left behind."

"You know, she made a promise to me once. That she'd always be at my side. Heh, and look how well she's kept it." Adam said.

"Did she make that promise to you? Or to the person you were pretending to be?" Yang asked.

"I think Blake was into the latter." Jared said, looking at Blake. "I think."

Silence.

"That's what it was." Blake said, smiling. "You know me so well."

"So I wasn't just good enough for you?" Adam asked.

"You know it's so much more than that."

"I know you've made your choice...and I've made mine."

The four combatants then take defensive stances as they resume their battle. Blake, Yang, and Jared rush forward together.

The three of them work together to strike at Adam with a series of back and forth blows and slashes.

Blake grabs the bottom portion of her broken Gambol Shroud katana and throws it at Adam, but he deflects it back at her.

"Bumblebee!" Jared said, noticing what is going on.

Yang grabs the pistol and uses the ribbon to swing Blake around.

"Thanks for letting me know." Yang said, looking over at Jared.

Blake uses her cleaver to clash with Adam's sword, but he sends her flying back.

Blake's back hits the cliff-side of the waterfall, depleting her Aura. She nearly falls off the ledge and hangs on for dear life.

"Blake!" Yang and Jared said, at the same time.

They then turn around and angrily glare at Adam.

"No…" Jared said, staring at Adam. "She's can't die there…"

"Moment of truth, Yang, Jared. Do the both of you think you're faster than you were at Beacon?" Adam asked.

This causes Yang and Jared to gasp and tremble slightly. Adam notices this and chuckles.

"Me neither." Adam said, smiling.

Adam rushes forward unsheathing his sword.

Jared manages to dodge the swing, then rolls away from a second, "Who knew that fighting bosses in ALFheim Online along with defeating Noise with Symphogear can come in handy."

Adam lands two kicks before Yang dodges a slash, followed up by another.

"Symphogear simulation room?" Yang asked.

Then Adam brings the sword down diagonally while Yang and Jared backs away. But then Adam rams Yang and Jared and they are knocked to the ground.

"Yeah." Jared said, smirking. "I spent my free time there. When I was earthbound for a year."

Transitioning into rolls, Yang and Jared get distance before stopping on hands and feet, huffing slightly.

"Both of your Auras are bound to be running low." Adam said, looking between Yang and Jared.

Yang and Jared pant for breath as Adam angrily grunts at them.

"What if it is?" Jared asked, holding Ember Gungnir in spear form.

Meanwhile, Blake struggles to climb up, briefly glancing over to spot Adam advancing on Yang and Jared who have gotten back up.

"Hit me already!" Adam said, while Yang and Jared dodges Adam's next two swings. "What does she even see in the both of you?!"

Adam rushes forward, tossing Wilt as it spins like a buzz-saw. Yang tries to block only to be overpowered and damaged, Adam grabs the sword and activates his Semblance before bringing it down. With her guard broken Yang gets knocked back and tumbles across the ground.

"Aqours, how's Blake doing?" Jared asked, telepathically.

Blake continues her climb.

"She's climbing up." Aqours said, telepathically. "You and Yang have to keep Adam distracted."

"The two of you are cowards like her!" Adam said, unleashes an attack with his Semblance toward Yang.

However, at the last second, Yang's eyes turn red. The attack hits Yang, creating a cloud of dust. Adam rushes forward and swings his sword down.

Jared aimed small amounts of energy beams through the spear for it to reach Yang, for the blonde to take damage from it.

When the dust clears, Adam looks in shock as Yang has caught his sword with her prosthetic hand. Her hair burns bright, activating her Semblance.

"Gotcha…" Yang said, cocking her left arm's Ember Celica. "Thanks for the help, Jared. You adapted Burn a Gundam a bit."

Yang pulls Adam toward her and punches him hard enough to disarm him and send him flying back.

"That I did." Jared said, happily. "We were stupid at the Fall of Beacon. Not anymore."

The force of the attack depletes Adam's Aura. Adam stands back up and tries to fight again, only to realize his sword is missing. Yang still has it in her hand.

"We may not be faster…" Yang said, while her own Aura and Jared's Aura depletes. "...but we're smarter."

Jared takes Wilt from Yang and he throws it over the bridge.

"Smart enough to be aware of our surroundings." Jared said, looking at Adam.

"No!" Adam said, failing to reach his sword in time as he watches it fall.

Suddenly, Blake reappears and uppercuts Adam as she jumps back on to the bridge. Adam stumbles backward. Suddenly, he notices one half of Gambol Shroud's katana on the ground. He and Blake rush forward to pick it up, but Blake grabs it before he can. Yang then runs forward and grabs the broken blade of Gambol Shroud. Both girls then impale Adam from the front and back, each with a piece of Blake's weapon simultaneously.

Adam looks down at his bleeding chest as he twitches, "Oh…"

Blake and Yang both pull their blades out and watch Adam stumble towards the edge of the bridge. He falls to his knees and his eyes start to roll back. He slumps forward and falls off the bridge. On his fall down, his body hits the cliffside with a sickening crunch, before disappearing into the water below.

"Finally…" Jared said, knowing that Adam Taurus is finally dead. "Adam was on the wrong side of justice. I knew what he was going for Blake. But it shouldn't have been like that."

Suddenly, Blake starts to sob and falls to her knees as she breaks down crying. Yang and Jared run over to hug Blake. Blake hugs back to give Jared and Yang a group hug.

"I...I am not going to break my promise, I swear." Blake said, tearfully.

"Same. I ran away for far too long. I...I let things happen when I could have prevented them." Jared said, letting out tears. "I'm not gonna leave you guys, not ever. Never again."

"I know the both of you won't." Yang said, looking between Yang and Jared.

The three continue to embrace as Blake and Jared continue to sob.

Argus...

"No! No, no, no, NO!!! You! You're never getting to Atlas! Do you hear me?! NEVER!" Cordovin said, struggling to pick up the mech's arm cannon and she presses a button on the controls. "All forces converge on my position and eliminate these pests at once!"

"Crap!" Oscar said.

"Everyone on board! We're making a run for it!" Maria said.

"What about Yang, Blake, and Jared?" Jaune asked.

Mech…

One of the screens read 'ARGUS BASE CHANNEL OPEN'.

"Ma'am, we've been trying to reach you! Argus is in danger!" An Atlas soldier said.

Cordovin's expression widens in horror, "What?"

Atlesian Military Base…

Various Atlas personnel all rush to their battle stations. A pair of guards are seen looking out at the ocean. In the distance, a towering Grimm can be seen stomping in the water towards Argus. It lets out a terrifying roar.

The Atlas guards then turn around and notice a massive legion of Manticores and Sphinxs in the air above the city of Argus.

"It's a Leviathan! It began its approach during your battle! We need you!" The Atlas soldier said.

Argus…

Ruby looks back to her friends in horror, who all share equally concerned expressions. They look to Cordovin's mech, still struggling to lift up its arm cannon.