Fault

Prison...

Robyn Hill cheerfully laughs, lying on the bed in her cell and examining her fingernails, "You should have seen the look on Joanna's face. I don't think she'd ever lost a fight before that. At least, not fair and square."

Met with silence, Robyn sits up and looks over at Qrow Branwen and then Jacques Schnee, the latter of whom swats frantically as a fly buzzes around his face.

"Tough crowd tonight. Guess Ironwood should have paid for better cell block entertainment." Robyn said, sighing.

As she speaks, Robyn stands up and stretches, walking over toward Qrow's cell. Her comment earns a small chuckle from Qrow while he stares at Clover Ebi's pin.

"And he smiles. Did I win?" Robyn asked.

"Hey, it's your game. I don't make the rules." Qrow said.

Robyn loses her cheerful demeanor, "I'm sorry for what happened. It wasn't your fault."

"It was, though. I made a deal with the darkness, and he paid the price. It was all happening so fast, but Clover wouldn't let up. Could have worked together against Tyrian if Clover just...but the thing that really stings? For the first time in a while I thought, maybe, maybe I could be around somebody - anybody - without my Semblance making it…complicated. And now, it just feels like a childish dream. Gone...like everybody else." Qrow said.

Robyn sadly looks at her hand, listening to Qrow.

"Believe it or not, I know a little of what that's like." Robyn said, walking over to the wall between her and Qrow's cells. "When people are worried you're gonna sniff out their secrets, they tend to push you away. It makes a real connection…difficult."

Robyn places her fingertips to the cell wall, the Hard-Light distorting in reaction to her touch. She then pulls her hand away and looks at it.

"I…" Qrow said.

A small beep is heard, and the door to the chamber opens. Qrow looks over to the door, clutching Clover's pin to his chest, and continues speaking as Atlas soldiers bring Arthur Watts back to his cell, accompanied by Marrow Amin and Harriet Bree.

"Never thought of it that way." Qrow said.

The soldiers toss Watts to the floor, and Harriet stands next to Qrow's cell with her arms crossed.

"You don't get to keep that." Harriet said.

"I didn't kill him." Qrow said.

"You keep saying that, but it was your weapon covered in his blood."

Qrow lowers his head and sighs. Robyn speaks up, drawing Harriet's attention.

"If you really wanna know what happened, mohawk, why not open this cell and take my hand?" Robyn asked.

Harriet scoffs and starts walking over to Robyn's cell, while Marrow locks Watts' cell.

"If I open this cell, it won't be to shake hands." Harriet said.

Marrow looks over to Harriet, a worried frown appearing on his face.

"Yeah, because you don't care about the truth. You just want someone to be mad at. Easier than taking an honest look at what side you're on." Robyn said.

Harriet narrows her eyes and quietly growls in annoyance. There is a tense silence as Qrow watches the two and Harriet looks over at the security panel for Robyn's cell. Harriet looks at Robyn and shifts on her feet.

"Hare? What're you doing?" Marrow asked.

Harriet looks at Robyn, then at Marrow, angered. She pushes past Marrow, storming out.

"Nothing." Harriet said.

Marrow watches Harriet leave, then looks at Robyn, who walks back over to her bed and lies down with her arms behind her head.

"Well, that was…almost exciting." Robyn said.

Solitas...

Jaune Arc, Yang Xiao Long, Lie Ren, and Ozzie Oswald drive their hover bikes across the tundra just outside Mantle, following The Hound up into a rocky chasm.

"It's going to lose us in these mountains! We can't keep up!" Jaune said.

Ren's bike starts shaking, and he looks at the frost-covered display, to find its engine is losing integrity, "I don't know how much longer these bikes can stand the cold."

"I'm really wishing one of us could fly right now." Yang said. "More like I wish Jared was here."

"Why do you want one of your friends to be here?" Ozzie asked.

"Jared has a superhero suit that can fly."

"Wait, hold on!" Jaune said, deploying his shield on his arm and hitting the brakes on his bike, moving back to drive parallel with Ren. "Ren, going to get you up there."

Jaune lifts his shield up, and Ren leaps from his hoverbike to land on Jaune's shield. Jaune charges the Gravity Dust in his shield and blasts Ren toward The Hound. As he flies through the air, Ren launches one of StormFlower's blade cables and wraps it around The Hound's hind leg.

"Nice!" Yang said, high-fiving Jaune, causing the sword user to briefly lose balance on his bike.

"This is bad." Clara said, while the Hound begins flying more erratically, slamming Ren against cliffs. "The hell is it doing?"

"Okay, not as nice." Yang said, over comms.

"He's slowing him down." Jaune said, over comms. "Hold on, Ren!"

"I don't have much of a choice!" Ren said, shooting his other blade cable, wrapping it around a boulder to further slow The Hound.

However, The Hound suddenly pulls up, causing the cable to come loose from the boulder, with the blade zipping past Yang and Jaune.

"Ozzie, I have a plan." Yang said, looking at the brunette. "Follow my lead."

The Hound slams Ren onto the ground and against pillars, continuing on its way through the chasm.

"Okay." Ozzie said, following Yang on her hover bike.

Yang spots an incline to her left and drives up it onto a cliff parallel to The Hound, where she begins shooting it in the head, with Ozzie right behind her. The Hound lowers Oscar Pine from its mouth into its hands and flies faster, leaving Yang and Ozzie confused.

"What?" Ozzie asked, over comms.

The Hound then lets out a loud roar, and the earth begins trembling before a horde of Centinels emerge from the ground, cliffs and archways.

One of the Centinels got close to Ozzie and her hover bike, and the brunette drove towards them, taking out her dual pistols in the process.

"Yang, Jaune, Ren." Ozzie said, over comms. "Tell Jared and the Doctor this. Run. Run, you clever boys and remember."

Ozzie got killed by a nearby Centinel, giving Yang, Jaune, and Ren enough time to react to what happened.

"Thank you, Ozzie. Right. Where were we? Did it just call for backup?" Yang asked, over comms.

A Teryx swoops at Yang, who leans away and drives over an arch. Down below, Jaune slashes Centinnels in half as he passes them while a flock of Teryxes flies behind him. Ren continues to hold onto StormFlower's cable, which has been detached from the gun. He watches what is happening on the ground, then looks up at The Hound, seeing Oscar pale and unconscious in its arms. Ren holsters his second gun and begins pulling himself along the cable toward The Hound.

A Centinnel spits acid onto the engine of Jaune's hoverbike. As she zips across a stone arch above, Yang calls out to him.

"Jaune!" Yang said, worried.

A pair of Centinnels twist around each other, heading straight for Jaune from behind. He sheathes his sword and leaps from his bike, then uses his shield's Gravity blast to bounce off a Centinnel's head onto a stone arch. He tucks, rolls and teeters on the opposite edge before Yang drives by and grabs him, swinging him onto the back of her bike.

Yang drives off the arch and onto a cliff, where a group of Centinnels burrow up from the ground ahead of her. She accelerates and expertly dodges past them, only for a Teryx to land up ahead. Jaune pulls out a shield device and activates and tosses it. The device bumps into a boulder before deploying its Hard-Light shield, and Yang rams the shield with her bike, causing it to lean against the boulder and form a ramp. The bike is sent flying over the Teryx's head before it can stop them. There are two Centinnels behind the Teryx, and Yang fires Ember Celica just before landing, sending the bike into a spin and hitting one of the Centinnels with the engine. Before she can regain control, the bike slams into a rock. The engine begins smoking, and a tank on the side of the bike begins leaking a glowing purple material.

Yang continues driving, dodging and speeding past Grimm on her way out of the chasm. She and Jaune sigh in relief, but when they look in front of them, their eyes widen with the realization that they are driving straight toward a sheer cliff. Yang turns the bike, and it topples over, sending her, Jaune and the bike tumbling along the ground. The bike slams into a boulder, while Yang and Jaune continue rolling toward the cliff. In an attempt to prevent their fall, Jaune stabs his sword into the ground while holding onto Yang's hand, only for him and Yang to fall over the edge, screaming.

Ren suddenly appears in the air above them, firing StormFlower's cables. One cable wraps around Jaune's sword, and the other wraps around Jaune's leg. A Teryx flies toward Ren, but he activates his Semblance, hiding himself, Yang and Jaune. The Teryx passes by harmlessly. An army of Centinnels and Teryxes arrive at the top of the cliff, only to turn and leave when they fail to sense anyone. Once it is safe, Ren deactivates his Semblance and looks into the distance to see The Hound flying toward Monstra.

Schnee Mansion…

Weiss Schnee knocks heavily on the front doors of the Schnee manor, and soon after, the double doors are opened by Whitley Schnee, who looks upon Weiss and her friends in surprise. Ruby Rose and Jared Shay are standing with her, Blake Belladonna is holding the still unconscious Nora Valkyrie, and May Marigold is keeping watch behind them.

"Oh, you've picked a fine time to…" Whitley said.

Weiss interrupts by pointing Myrtenaster at him, and he looks at the blade in fright.

"Not. Another. Word. We're coming in." Weiss said.

Whitley steps aside and groans as Ruby's group walks into the manor.

"Things are already bad enough after what you did to father, now you want us to harbor fugitives too? Our family has a reputation." Whitley said, crossing his arms in annoyance.

"Oh, Nora…" Jared said, looking down at Nora. "Sorry that this had to happen to you."

Blake, having set Nora down on the floor, looks at Whitley.

"That's what you're worried about? Your reputation?" Blake asked.

"I'm just saying that we've already lost all the house staff, and mother locked herself in her room." Whitley said.

"Maybe you haven't figured out what's going on, Whitley, but we're busy trying to save Atlas." Weiss said.

Ruby steps between the two Schnee siblings, "Look, our friend is hurt. We just need a place to lay low while she rests, and then we'll be out of your way."

"Give us a couple of hours, okay?" Jared asked, walking over to Whitley. "It won't take long. Things have been hell lately."

"Fine. What do you expect me to do, then?" Whitley asked.

Weiss points to the staircase behind her, "Go to your room."

There is a brief pause, and Whitley sighs and follows her command.

"This way." Weiss said, walking away, and May lifts Nora and follows her.

While Weiss and May exit the room, Blake walks over to Ruby and Jared, who are staring outside through the front doors.

"Ruby?" Blake asked.

"I hope everyone's doing alright." Ruby said.

"If you're worried about Yang, you could always try calling her." Blake said.

"That's the thing. I did." Ruby said, turning and showing Blake her Scroll which is actively calling Yang's Scroll.

"Yang…" Jared said, grabbing Ruby's hand. "Everything will be okay. I just know it."

Solitas...

In the mountainous tundra, Yang gathers up nuts and bolts while Ren does nothing and Jaune waves his Scroll in the air in search of a signal.

"I repeat, if anybody can hear me…" Jaune said, looking over at the crashed hoverbike, which has a trail of the leaked purple material in the snow leading to the damaged tank.

"We need transport back to Mantle." Jaune said, sighing.

Some time later, the three are trekking through the tundra, with Ren leading and Jaune pushing the hoverbike. The sun is beginning to set, and it is snowing. Yang is using her Scroll to keep an eye on their Aura levels. Jaune's is at 41% but then lowers to 39%. Yang's and Ren's meters turn from yellow to red as Yang's drops from 34% to 32% and Ren's goes from 33% to 31%.

"We need to get out of this weather before the cold drops our Auras completely. How much farther to the outpost?" Yang asked, and with an angry expression, Ren remains silent. "Ren, how much…"

"I don't know." Ren said.

Yang looks back at Jaune, who shrugs. She catches up with Ren.

"I thought you said you saw it when you were up in the air." Yang said.

"I did, before I had to cut myself loose to help you guys. And we lost the woman we just met, Ozzie Oswald, in the process." Ren said.

Yang uncomfortably brings her hand to the back of her head, then lowers it as she speaks, "Yeah, you've brought that up a couple times now. Something you need to say?"

"Not really. Wouldn't want to waste any more time." Ren said, walking ahead, while Yang stops with a small gasp.

Annoyed, Yang catches up with Ren again.

"Hey! What is your deal?" Yang asked, stepping in front of Ren, stopping him.

"Don't worry about it." Ren said.

"Well, I'm sorry things aren't going smoothly enough for you."

Jaune stops, "Guys…"

"They're not going smoothly at all." Ren said.

"I hate to break it to you, but that's part of being a Huntsman." Yang said.

"Are you kidding?! We don't know the first thing about being Huntsmen. We clearly weren't ready." Ren said.

Jaune takes a couple steps toward them, "Guys, stop it."

"Were we not ready when we saved Haven? When we took down a Leviathan? We got the Lamp to Atlas." Yang said.

"And then we lost it! And after that, when we had to make real decisions, we got every single one wrong." Ren said.

"I'm not going to pretend like we did everything perfectly, but if we'd done nothing, things would be even worse than they are now."

"How could they possibly be worse? We are stuck out here while Salem has the Lamp and Oscar. We've got no plan, no army."

"We've got the Maiden."

Ren walks away from Yang, in the direction of the City of Atlas, gesturing to it as he speaks.

"And by keeping her from opening the vault for Ironwood, we're just trapping the whole city for Salem." Ren said, lowering his arms. "People are going to die. Because of us."

"So what, we should just give Ironwood what he wants? Abandon Mantle? You think Atlas is still gonna be able to float to safety now that she's here?" Yang asked.

Ren turns to Yang, throwing his fists down, and then walks back toward her as he speaks, "I don't know. But these aren't the kinds of decisions we should be making because we have no idea what we're doing."

"Okay, both of you. Cut it out." Jaune said.

Ren walks toward Yang, getting in her face.

"I'm just saying what nobody else wants to. We're in way over our heads, Ruby is barely more than a kid, Jared is a fanboy thrust into a world of battle when his home world was living in peaceful times, I'm just an orphan from the middle of nowhere…" Ren said.

"Ren, I…" Jaune said.

Ren turns to Jaune, "You cheated your way into Beacon!"

Yang's eyes widen, and her mouth drops open. They stand in silence for a few moments, until Ren relaxes his shoulders and gains a regretful expression. He looks away from Jaune, frowning. Jaune stares wide-eyed, then lowers his gaze with a frown.

"You don't think we should be Huntsmen, fine, but I'm getting out of the cold." Jaune said.

Jaune resumes pushing the hoverbike, walking past Ren and Yang.

"We've still got a job to do." Jaune said, mumbling to himself.

"Seriously, is your goal just to push everyone away?" Yang asked, looking at Ren.

Yang walks away to follow Jaune, while Ren clenches his fists.

Monstra...

Ozpin's voice speaks from the nothingness just as Oscar begins regaining consciousness.

"Oscar? Don't panic. We're going to be okay." Ozpin said, in Oscar's head.

Oscar is looking at his feet, which are hovering above the ground, "Uh, what?"

Oscar looks up to see fleshy walls, bone spikes, a bone staircase and a membrane door. Standing in the shadows of the doorway is Salem with a cloud of smoke hovering above her hand.

"My long-lost Ozma, found at last." Salem said.

The smoke forms shapes of her daughters, all running in a circle and giggling. As Salem turns her head to look at Oscar, the smoke dissipates. Oscar's eyes widen, and he looks around and begins struggling. The Hound is holding him in the air by the back of his coat's collar. Salem walks over to him.

"So small, this new host of yours. It's a wonder my Hound didn't break you. It's been how many years since we saw each other like this, face to face? And nothing to say?" Salem asked.

Oscar adopts Ozpin's speaking mannerisms as he responds to her.

"I'm sorry the reunion isn't living up to your expectations." Oscar said.

Salem suddenly grabs Oscar's face, her own face wrinkling slightly with a furious glare.

"You can pretend, boy, but you're not fully him. Not yet, at least." Salem said, relaxing and lets go of Oscar with a sigh. "Well, perhaps you and I can have a better working relationship. Oscar, was it?" She begins walking around The Hound. "The Beacon Relic. My forces have been unable to locate the Relic beneath the school. If I know my Ozma, he has used some means of deception to hide its location differently than the others." Salem stops next to Oscar and smiles at him, scratching The Hound's shoulder. "I need to know where it is."

"I...that's not something I know about." Oscar said.

Salem stops and walks away.

"Of course. He would keep that one guarded as long as possible." Salem said.

Oscar sighs, and Salem stops at the other end of the room.

"How about something easier, then? The password for the Lamp." Salem said.

Oscar pauses for a moment, his eyes dart down then back up, "The Lamp is all out of questions."

Salem turns to face Oscar and smiles, before summoning a black orb of magic in front of her. The orb sends out a rainbow of magic beams, all converging on Oscar's chest, causing him to scream out and writhe in agony. With an intense glare on her face, Salem keeps the torture going for eleven seconds, then lowers her hands with a frown, letting the magic fade. She walks over to Oscar, who is still squirming and gasping with remnants of the magic floating from the scorch mark on his chest.

"The lies come out of you so easily." Salem said.

Oscar turns away, cowering, as Salem gently puts her hand to his cheek and gives a sweet smile.

"Like-minded souls indeed." Salem said, turning and walking away, heading back to the door. "One of you is going to tell me what you know. I don't much care if it is you or Ozma. Either way, I'll finally have the Relic."

"I won't tell you anything." Oscar said.

Salem turns to face Oscar once again, "Hm."

The membrane door pulls open to reveal Hazel Rainart.

"Hazel?" Oscar asked.

Hazel walks over to Oscar, who weakly lifts his hand toward him.

"Wait, wait…" Oscar said.

Hazel slaps his hands away and punches him, causing The Hound to drop him on the floor.

"That was for Haven Academy." Hazel said, kicking Oscar toward the wall, then cracks his neck. "Everything that follows...will be for my sister."

Hazel approaches Oscar, while Salem watches.

Salem and The Hound walk together through a hallway inside Monstra. There is a low, rhythmic beating in the distance. As they turn a corner, they encounter Cinder Fall and Neopolitan. Cinder kneels and addresses Salem.

"Your grace, I…" Cinder said, noticing The Hound. "What...is that?"

Salem scratches The Hound's chin and then scratches behind its ear. It appears to enjoy the scratching.

"An...experiment. So far I am pleased with the results." Salem said, losing her cheerful tone. "Did you need something, Cinder?"

"Yes, I…I want to search for the Winter Maiden. I think…" Cinder said, unnerved, at first.

"Do you hear that, my pet? She thinks. She wants." Salem said, while she stops scratching The Hound, and she and her Grimm walk past Cinder. "As if she's done something that warrants me caring about either of those things."

Frustrated, Cinder stands up and turns to face Salem and then begins following her.

"We're just sitting and waiting. Without the Maiden power, the vault means nothing. Let me claim it for you." Cinder said.

"I will tell you when and where you are needed." Salem said, and as she speaks, she glances toward Cinder, unamused.

"But your grace…" Cinder said.

The Hound turns and roars at Cinder, frightening her.

Salem stops walking, keeping her back turned to Cinder, "I would like to think I have shown a great deal of patience over my many years walking Remnant. But I do hate repeating myself."

Salem looks over her shoulder at Cinder.

"You will remain here. Is. That. Clear?" Salem asked.

Cinder stares for a moment, then adopts a more docile tone and kneels, lowering her head.

"Yes, yes, of course. Without you, I am nothing." Cinder said.

Salem resumes walking away, and The Hound follows her. Cinder stands back up with an angry expression, and Neo steps up beside her, raising an eyebrow.

Shortly afterward, Cinder is walking through another hallway, with Neo following her with a 'Seriously?' gesture.

"I know what she said. I just wanna check on something. We'll be back before anyone realizes." Cinder said, while she begins descending an incline toward the docking bay.

Neo, looking unconvinced, uses her umbrella to float down, putting her hand on her hip as she passes Cinder.

"I wanna see if anything is still going on at Amity Colosseum." Cinder said.

When Neo reaches the wing of the airship she and Cinder arrived on, she tiptoes across it and then drops down to sit on it with one leg crossed over the other.

"Salem doesn't know those children like I do. They wouldn't just abandon their misguided attempt to save the world." Cinder said, standing at the edge of the dock, then turns to look at

Neo, who looks away. Cinder growls in frustration.

Suddenly, Emerald Sustrai's voice surprised both of them.

"If she doesn't want to, I'll come." Emerald said.

Neo looks at Emerald with her eyes narrowed, and Emerald walks forward.

"I've been working on my Semblance. I can help. I won't tell anybody." Emerald said.

There is silence for a moment, as Cinder thinks it over.

"How much did you overhear?" Cinder asked, with a frustrated sigh.

Cinder walks toward Emerald.

Solitas...

Night has begun, and there is heavy snowfall over the Mantle tundra. Inside an abandoned outpost, Jaune hits a furnace until it lights up. Ren is staring out of a window with his arms crossed.

"You're right, Ren. I…I did cheat my way into Beacon." Jaune said, sighing.

As he speaks, Jaune stands up and walks over to Ren, standing beside him.

"And I'm glad that I had people around me to help me see that I was bigger than that mistake. You've got people around you, too. You don't have to force yourself to be strong. The more you hide from what you're feeling, the more alone you're going to feel. Trust me." Jaune said.

Ren glances at Jaune, then uncrosses his arms and walks out of the small building, shoving the door open. Yang is standing by the door, having just returned, and she sadly watches Ren leave. She holds up a purple canister.

"If anyone cares, I found a part to fix the bike. So, yay. Good news." Yang said, walking over to a workbench, and Jaune turns back to the window to watch Ren sit down beneath a lamp post. "For what it's worth, I'm sorry he said that to you. I know you've had to work hard to get here, Jaune."

"We're all under a lot of stress right now. I used to push people away too." Jaune said. "Jared used to push people away when we weren't with him."

Yang turns to the workbench and begins using a wrench to put the canister inside a piece of the hoverbike. After a bit, she pauses.

"Do you…think she thinks less of me…for not helping out with Amity?" Yang asked.

"Ruby is your sister, she's always going to love you even if you disagree with each other." Jaune said.

"Yeah. Ruby…" Yang said, while she resumes fixing the bike part, and Jaune sighs and lies down in one of the bunk beds.

"I need to get some sleep, but I can't stop thinking about Oscar." Jaune said.

Yang puts the wrench down and walks over to the window, "Go on. I'll make sure Ren doesn't brood himself to death out in the cold."

"Thanks. I just have a bad feeling. Things always seem to get worse before they get better." Jaune said.

Down the hill from the outpost and a fair distance away, the ground has begun cracking and noises can be heard beneath it. Suddenly, the cracks lengthen and then expand.