Welcome in Mantle

The group stood there, their attention was drawn upward by a faint shadow moving against the clouds. A figure soared gracefully, silhouetted against the dim light.

"Is that… a person?" Blake asked, squinting.

Crimson's sharp eyes locked onto the flying figure, he muttered, "Well… this is unexpected."

Raven, standing beside him, turned her gaze toward him with a curious look but said nothing.

The group collectively froze as the figure descended. With fluid motion, the shadow became clearer—a girl with orange hair, dressed in green, her movements precise yet somehow carefree.

The group stared in disbelief as she touched down in front of them, her boots clinking softly against the pavement. The girl's vibrant green eyes scanned the group with excitement.

"Wait a second," Weiss stammered, her usually composed voice trembling.

"No way…" Yang muttered, her brows furrowing.

Ruby's eyes widened as recognition struck her like a bolt of lightning. "PENNY?!" she screamed, her voice cracking with shock.

At the sound of her name, the girl perked up, her face lighting up with childlike glee. "Ruby! SALUTATIONS" she cried, saluting in her signature cheerful manner before launching herself toward Ruby at full speed.

"Wait, wait—!" Ruby barely managed to get the words out before Penny collided with her, knocking her clean off her feet. They both tumbled to the ground in a heap, with Penny hugging Ruby tightly.

The group watched in stunned silence as Ruby sat up, her silver eyes still wide with disbelief. "Penny… how…?" she stammered. "We… we saw you… you were…" Her voice trailed off, unable to say the word.

Penny stood and helped Ruby to her feet, her ever-cheerful smile never wavering. "Oh, I understand your confusion! During the Vytal Festival, I was indeed… well… shredded, as you might recall." She paused, her smile softening. "But after that, Atlas was able to recover my core and construct a new body for me! I'm still me—just… upgraded!"

Ruby blinked, her mouth opening and closing like a fish out of water. Slowly, a smile began to form on her face, tears glistening in her eyes. "You're… really here?"

"I am!" Penny confirmed, her eyes sparkling.

The tension in the group eased, smiles breaking out as they processed the impossible reunion. But Pyrrha stepped forward hesitantly, her head bowed. "Penny… I…" She took a shaky breath. "I'm so sorry for what happened to you. I—"

Penny shook her head quickly, cutting Pyrrha off. "You have nothing to apologize for, Pyrrha Nikos. Back then, you were under external influence. It wasn't your fault."

Pyrrha's shoulders relaxed, though guilt still lingered in her eyes. "Thank you," she said softly.

Penny turned to the rest of the group, her expression bright again. "Oh, and did I mention? My new body is even better than the last one! I've been equipped with enhanced functionality, so I can be the best protector of Mantle!"

Before anyone could respond, the city's alarms blared once more

"Duty calls!" she announced, leaping into the air with ease. "I'll handle this one—let's catch up later! We have so much to talk about!"

As she flew off toward the source of the alarm, her voice echoed faintly behind her. "Stay safe, everyone!"

The group stood there, watching her disappear into the sky. The weight of the moment settled over them, though Yang broke the silence with a laugh. "Yep. That's Penny for you."

Ruby wiped at her eyes, still smiling as they resumed their journey deeper into Mantle. But they barely took a few steps before chaos erupted. Without warning, specialized capturing cables shot out from every direction, wrapping tightly around every member of the group and pinning them to the ground.

Ruby struggled against the cables binding her arms and legs. "What's happening?" she cried out, her voice panicked.

Weiss gritted her teeth. "This…."

Ren, with his usual calm, analyzed the situation. "It's coordinated. Someone's targeting us."

Everyone was caught—except for Crimson. As the cables lunged toward him, he simply reached out, caught them midair, and held them in place as if they were nothing more than strings of yarn.

"Well," Crimson said with an amused smirk, his eyes scanning the surroundings, "this is quite the welcome." He glanced at the rooftops and saw five figures descending, each armed and radiating an air of professionalism.

The group of five spread out, surrounding them. A man in the center, clearly the leader, stepped forward. "There was a report," he said firmly, "about an unauthorized ship landing in Mantle. Unauthorized weapons use by non-licensed Huntsmen was also reported."

Crimson tilted his head, still holding the cables in one hand with ease. "Fair enough," he replied casually. "But you might want to save us all some time and contact General Ironwood."

The leader, ignoring Crimson, said "You'll be under arrest until further notice."

Crimson raised an eyebrow. "And who are you, exactly?"

"We are the Ace Ops," the leader replied, his voice brimming with authority.

Before Crimson could respond, a short-haired woman with a cocky grin and an aura crackling with lightning dashed forward, her semblance making her movements almost too fast to follow. Crimson merely glanced at her, stepping aside at the last second with a bemused smile as her fist struck nothing but air.

"Interesting," Crimson remarked. "So if I beat you down, will the general notice us?"

The Ace Ops visibly bristled at his words. The short-haired woman, Harriet, glared at him. "We're the best huntsmen in Atlas. You think you can beat us?"

"We will see," Crimson said with a smirk.

Harriet charged again, her body a blur of speed. Her fists crackled with lightning as she unleashed a flurry of strikes. Despite her overwhelming speed, Crimson blocked every single one with ease, his hands moving fluidly. Finally, he stepped forward and delivered a solid punch to her face, sending her reeling to the side.

As Harriet stumbled back, a faunus member of the Ace Ops pointed at Crimson and shouted, "Stay!"

To Crimson's surprise, his body froze mid-motion. He couldn't move, his entire body came to a halt. Harriet smirked, wiping the blood from her lip. "Let's see how cocky you are in a cell."

But Crimson smiled. Slowly, he began to take a step forward, his sheer force overpowering the faunus' semblance. The faunus groaned, dropping to one knee as sweat dripped down his face. "H-He's moving!"

The Ace Ops were now on high alert, their confident expressions replaced with alarm. As they surrounded Crimson, he suddenly dashed forward, his speed making Harriet's earlier movements look sluggish. In an instant, he grabbed one of the capturing cables and used it to restrain the faunus, dropping him to the ground.

The rest of the team stared in shock.

"One," Crimson said with a smirk, turning to face the remaining four.

The giant woman with a hammer roared, charging at him with the slender bald man close behind. She brought her hammer down with tremendous force, but Crimson stepped into her strike, delivering a powerful uppercut that sent her staggering. She barely managed to stay upright, her feet seemingly rooted to the ground by her semblance.

From the side, glowing tendrils of energy lashed out toward Crimson. He stepped aside, dodging them effortlessly, only to narrowly avoid a fishing hook flying toward his head.

Meanwhile, Harriet had already freed the faunus, and the two stood ready to rejoin the fight. Crimson chuckled, his tone almost playful. "You are better than average," he admitted.

As the Ace Ops regrouped for a second assault, Crimson drew his sword. The bluish-white blade glowed faintly, resembling a piece of the moon. He smiled, tilting his head. "No offense," he said, "but we need to see the general."

The Ace Ops braced themselves, but nothing could have prepared them for what came next. In a blur of motion, Crimson unleashed a storm of crescent-shaped slashes from his sword. The glowing arcs of energy streaked through the air, forcing the Ace Ops onto the defensive. Despite their best efforts to block and dodge, they were quickly overwhelmed.

Before they could recover, Crimson was upon them. His movements were a blur, his strikes precise and devastating. One by one, the Ace Ops fell, their auras breaking under the relentless assault. The leader managed to block a strike with his fishing rod, but the sheer force of the blow sent him stumbling backward, his weapon cracking under the pressure.

As the dust settled, the leader looked around at his fallen teammates, then at Crimson, who stood unscathed, his sword glowing faintly and a calm smile on his face.

To make matters worse for the Ace Ops, the capturing cables that had restrained Ruby and the others had been cut by Crimson's onslaught. The group was now free and standing once more, their expressions annoyed and prepared to fight.

Crimson sheathed his sword, his smile never wavering. "Now," he said, "be a good sport and contact the general. Otherwise…" His eyes glinted dangerously. "I'll have to take that scroll out of your bloodied body. Your choice."

The leader, Clover, clenched his jaw, his pride bruised. But seeing no other option, he pulled out his scroll and made the call. "General… we have trouble," he said, his voice strained.

"Trouble?" Ironwood's voice came through the scroll.

"Tell him Crimson Rose, Qrow Branwen and their group are here" Crimson said with a smile.

Clover hesitated before continuing. "Crimson Rose, Qrow Branwen, and their group are here."

There was a pause. Then Ironwood replied, "Clover, escort them to me. Now."

Clover ended the call, his face twitching with frustration. Crimson chuckled softly and said, "Your team overall is not bad"

Clover's face darkened, but he said nothing as he prepared to lead the group to the general.