Continuation of Dead End Alternative.

Ironwood glances at your sleeping form; you had been asleep for over three days, it wasn't like you were in a coma, you still tossed and turned, yet you show any signs of waking up "How is she?"

"Well, her physical body is okay; she isn't doing so well mentally. Whatever happened to her before she got here, had caused so much stress where her body would react as if she was going to die. Perhaps, we should wait it out until she wakes up." Pietro begins to cough, "It's just like when she first came to us. Poor girl, I had always hoped that she would leave all of this and settle down somewhere."
Ironwood looks down, "I had hoped the same." He then looks back at you, seeing Ajin walking around the room, aimlessly. The relic was floating beside you, from time to time it glowed bright then goes dim, Ironwood wasn't too sure what it meant or if it was trying to connect with you. He had thought if he moved you near the vault, would you wake up, yet there was a feeling that if he did that, you would be exposed to the world and who knows what awaited you outside of the walls. The most plans for Amity Tower were on hold since your return; the Grimm seemed to become more aggressive, and there was a high chance that more items would be lost than recovered.

He then remembers what you had said before sleep took over, you had told him everything, a lot of new information that was hidden since the beginning. Salem, the Gods you were associated with, Ozpin's past, your past, all of it seemed out of place yet it made sense, he wasn't going to lie and said that it didn't affect him, yet he thought of what you went through; he knew that he had to protect you. There wasn't a way to communicate with the others, and by recalling the conversation, you were with Qrow and a few students from Beacon, Team RWBY, and Team JNR. If he could pinpoint where they are, he was going to make sure to bring them to Atlas and find another way to defeat Salem. 

"She came from Argus; perhaps I can get whoever is in charge of there to find the others and bring them here." Ironwood took out his scroll as a message appears on his screen,
'Council Meeting in Progress.'

Pietro follows behind Ironwood out the door; the Ace-Ops, Winter, and Penny were standing outside of the room. "Clover, I need someone in your team to watch over her until I return."

"Is that supposed to be hard?" Harriet says sarcastically, Ironwood takes a look at his scroll, "This is (Y/n) we are talking about if anything happens, contact me immediately."

As Ironwood walks away, the Ace-Ops look at each other, then at the door to your room, "Any volunteers?" Marrow says. The other members stare at Marrow, he looks at them clueless then realized that they were thinking, "Me? Really?"

"It's just going to be for the day, tomorrow we switch."
"But what if she does wake up? I don't think I should stand in a room with a sleeping woman, what if (Y/n) thinks that I'm a weirdo watching her sleep?" Marrow speaks nervously as his tail lowers.

"It's not like you are the only one watching, the other doctors are there as well."
"Why not just have the doctors only watch her?"
"Because General Ironwood gave us the order."

Marrow whines but enters your room anyways. Clover takes out his scroll, "Let's head out for preparation for the Amity Tower."

Within the next few hours you had awoken, your eyes began to adjust to the light, "Where?" You then take notice of familiar items in the room, "My room? In Atlas?" You then sit up, a soft gasp is heard near you, you look up seeing Marrow, his ice-blue eyes widen seeing you awake. He rushes back and forth between you and the door, "Ah! (Y/n) I was assigned to be here, please don't think I'm weird. I'll get the others." Marrow runs out of the room. You make your way off the bed; it had been a while since you had a shutdown. You see that your scroll was placed on the nightstand. You check the time and date to see how long you had slept, "Almost four days." 

You look at the relic of knowledge, seeing it was floating on a small table, "Why would they leave her out in the open?" You walk towards the relic taking hold of it; once it shrinks to a smaller size, you strapped it to the buckle of your skirt.

It wasn't long when you hear a knock on your door, "Come in."
Clover walks into the room "(Y/n); you're awake."

"Yeah, where are the others?" 
"I told them to stand outside, for the time being, I wouldn't want them to overwhelm you." 
"And James?"
"Currently, in his office, I have to alert him that you woke up."

You put your hand up, "That won't be necessary, I'll visit him. I need to have a word with him."

You walk into Ironwood's office, after giving the door a knock a faint, 'Come in.' You enter the room, Winter's eyes widen upon seeing you as Ironwood places down the papers he was holding, "You're awake." Ironwood faces Clover, "Why didn't you let me know she was awake?"
"Because I told him to. James, there are a few things we need to discuss, how come I wasn't in the vault?"
"I'm not putting you in the vault. And it was by my word to keep you safe. Clover, may you leave us alone for a moment?" Clover hesitates, "No, I want him here, I know the ace-ops know about Salem, it will be easier for him to see what we are dealing with than hearing it second hand."
Clover steps away from the door as he stands behind you, "Why didn't you put me in the vault?"

"(Y/n), for as long I had known you when it came to protecting others, you've never back down from a fight. You told me that you were with Qrow-" Ironwood stops speaking as he takes notice of Ajin hovering over you, who had one of his hand up to where his mouth would be signing him to keep silent, "... in Argus, I had assumed that you would be with others."

"James, it's not a fight. It's a war. Salem is coming, I feel it, I know it. That's why I wanted to do this my own." You show the Relic of Knowledge, "I need to summon her to keep the relic unusable for the rest of this era."

"I thought the wishes were used up."
"Oz said that once upon a time." You held up the lamp, "Jinn?"

The lamp began to glow a bright as cyan smoke escape the lamp, "My, my... It wasn't long since I was last out." Jinn manifest from the smoke as everyone watches with wide eyes. "I am Jinn, a being created by the God of Light to aid humanity in its pursuit of knowledge. I've been graced with the ability to answer three questions every one hundred years. You're in luck, as I am still able to answer one question." 

You look up at Jinn, "Hello, Jinn."

"Hello, dear mother. It's strange for you to be the one to call out for me; usually, it's the old man."Jinn bows her head to you as Ironwood watches with shock, he knew that you were the caretaker of the relics, but he didn't understand why Jinn referred to as Mother.
"You should know why he isn't here."
Jinn crossed her arms, "Yes, I do. Dear mother, what knowledge do you seek?"
Ironwood watches the scene unfold, Winter hadn't moved unsure what to do in the situation, she had already known about the spring maidens and their magical yet to see another grand being appear right in front of them seemed to surprised them. You smile sadly at Jinn, "How are you?" Jinn looked at you with confusion, yet when she spoke, she had a hint of amusement in her voice, "Saint, is that your question? That would be a waste of a question."
You nod, "That is what I seek."
Jinn frowned, "Saint..."

"You know what I want to do, please, for the safety of Remnant, answer my question."
"The God of Light wouldn't want to see you like this."
"Neither would Tamish."
"I'm sorry, dear mother, this may be the first time I would have to reject your question."

"How about this instead?" Jinn uncrosses her arms, "The people I was with before coming to Atlas, are they okay?" Jinn holds out her hands to you, "Yes, yet there is a particular one that misses you dearly."
You look down, "Qrow."
"He ran after you, but it seems that he wasn't quick enough to go after the one he's ever loved. The old man misses you as well; there is a lot of regret within him along with the young boy, who wanted to go with you. They feel lost without you there, but you won't go back for them. If they have the opportunity, they will come here to search for you, all of them care about their teacher, or should I say their family member."
Jinn smiles at you, "Smile, the God's prized possession should not show such a sad face, fore it is the same face when they met you." Jinn disappears into smoke.

"Have you lost your mind?" Winter looks at you with a concerned face, "We could have found out about Salem's next move, and we could have-"
"Being one step ahead means nothing, sure we can find out where she could go next, or her motives, are you mentally prepared for what you might hear?"

The lamp begins to shrink in size, "We have the relics from Mistral and Atlas here. I know she hasn't claimed the one back in Vale since I hid the vault. The only one that isn't safe is the Sword in Vacuo, but we will need the Summer maiden to open it. The Spring Maiden is out free, the Winter Maiden is barely in stable condition, and the Fall Maiden is with our enemy."

"But, you're saying as if you're going to do this alone."

"I am... Eventually. James, I have a request."
"What is it?"
"Please hide the relic. I know the winter maiden will not be able to open the vault, but perhaps I trust you to keep it safe. It may be unusable, but it still holds power, and it will attract the Grimm, especially with me around it." You hand the relic to Ironwood, who takes it from your hands, "I will."  

Since you were awake and not wanting to keep you indoors, Ironwood and Clover decided to take you on a walk around Atlas, yet you wanted to see the edge of Atlas. To you, it was a beautiful view, seeing the sunset from the white snow in the distance and Mantle right below you, it was beautiful because it showed life.

"It's been a long time since we had taken a walk, how long? Six years?"
"It's been six years since you left Atlas."
"Wow, how time flies. Six years. And then Beacon fell two years ago. Clover that means that you were here with James for Seven!" Clover nods with a smile; then he stops following for a moment, which catches your attention.

"Why did you stop?"
"Why are you walking closer to the edge?" Clover spoke in a serious tone, he saw right through you, he knew if you were upset just by looking at you. Ironwood takes notice of the distance between you and him, why hadn't he take notice of this.

"I can't lie to you, can't I? For the first time in a very long time, I feel like dying, you that dreaded feeling of being a worthless excuse of a human being. Then again, I don't know if I am even human anymore." Ironwood didn't understand what you were saying; it was out of nowhere; you weren't the type to hold negative emotions, but then again, you would bottle them up.

"James... You know the truth now... Will you react like everyone else... Like Qrow? Will you accept the truth, or will I have to be left alone again? Qrow made his choice... No, I made his choice." You look at your hands the smile on your face didn't falter, you stepped back, "Don't worry, the Grimm only come if I feel scared or in danger."

"(Y/n) You can talk to us. Step away from there, and we'll get through this together." Ironwood takes a step forward as you didn't move, "For everyone, death is permanent, but for me, it will never come." Clover had an awful feeling run through his body while listening to the conversation. Ironwood watches carefully, as you didn't move away from the edge.

"Remember when I used to sing? I mean I still do, shall I sing for you two?" The wind blew harsher; your (long/short) hair swayed in the wind as you began to sing.

"Rolling girl is taunted by her gaze,
She can't recall the hue she erased,
Voice's scream, blending all around her head, blending over again, blending over again." Clover was inching his way to you yet felt that you seemed to get further and further from his grasp.

"No problem she breathes another lie
The pain and guilt she feels amplifies
"You'll be fine" is what they all say
Even when they see me on my way towards my fate, they'd watch me roll again."

"Just once more, just once more.
"Rolling down a hill just like I did before."
Oh, that girl said, what she said,
Repeating every word and hiding every meaning." You extend your arms on your side as you fall off the edge, Ironwood's eyes widen "(Y/n)!" He jumps after you, extending his arm to you; fear filled his senses.

You had your arms still out as if you were going to embrace death, he was not going to let you do that, he inched his way to you, and the moment his hand took yours, Ironwood brings you into a hug, "You're not alone." You tear up hearing his words, Ajin was finally summoned and caught you and Ironwood. Both of you land safely on a boulder that was affected by gravity dust.

Ironwood didn't let you go; he couldn't; he felt that the moment he loosened his grip, you would disappear. He didn't think of you as a colleague or coworker; he cared about you. You didn't bother pushing yourself away from him, he patted your head, muttering, "We can get through this, I know we can, all we need is time."

Within a few moments, an aircraft goes down to where the two of you were. Clover rushed to the aircraft that had you and Ironwood in it upon it's landing.

Ironwood carried you in his arm, a blanket keeping you warm. The remaining members of the Ace-Ops ran towards Clover; he didn't face them, only focusing on you. Ironwood stares back at Clover, then continue to walk away from the group, he needed to know what pushed you into becoming the way you are.

You were no longer in your room; instead, Ironwoods had requested for you to be under watch by the military, similar to the Winter Maiden. Clover was the one in your room this time. You were lying on the pure white bed, wearing a plain white floor-length dress, "Clover?"
Clover kneels to get a better look at you, "Yes?"
"Why did he jump after me?" You close your eyes as you sit up, "He could have died."
"If he didn't move, I would have done it too. I've never seen you like this. Did something happen?" Clover rubs your back, "I fell in love." You began to tear up as you thought about Qrow, Clover watches you closely with worry, "This is the worse pain I have ever felt. It hurts so bad, and I left them!" You look at your hands as tears fell on them.

Clover places your head on his shoulder; you cling to his uniform; he doesn't say anything, letting you cry. "It's my fault that Qrow is angry. I shouldn't have hidden it from him." Clover continues to listen; he took mental notes of the things you said.

After a while, Clover steps out of the room; he comes face to face with his teammates, "So... What was that about?"
"We don't have to babysit her, you know."
"None of you remember what's she's really like, huh?" Clover says, not looking up from his scroll. "She is connected with the Grimm; if she wanted to, she could bring the world to its knees, without a second thought. You can call it babysitting, but I call it being there for a friend."

"That was too close for just friends; you must care about her." Marrow adds, Clover chuckles, "Very, let's get back to work."

Within the next few days in Argus, Terra hears a knock on her door; she places down her son to open the door, revealing two soldiers from the Manta Base. "Can I help you?" She asks cautiously.

One of the men speaks up, "We have received news that you house Huntsmen and Huntresses; by any chance, are these people were under your care in the last few days?" The second man holds up a scroll showing the faces of Team RWBY, Team JNR, and Qrow.

Terra hesitates to answer, "What's going on here?" Jaune speaks up from behind the two men, Nora, Ren, and Oscar, with him.

The men make their way to the team, "Hello, we are from Manta Base, we have been given orders to retrieve you and your teammates to Atlas by General Ironwood."

Oscar steps forward, "The General? That means (Y/n) made it to Atlas."
"But she said not to follow her."
"Unless something happened to her."
Team RWBY and Qrow walk up from the sidewalk; they look in confusion, "You four must be team RWBY, is that correct?"

Ruby steps forward, "Yes, who are you?"

"We are here to send all of to Atlas; we have a transport prepared for your departure."
"But why would the General send someone to get us?" Oscar spoke up.

The two guards face each other, "Are you familiar with someone named (Y/n) (L/n)?"
This caught Qrow's attention, "Did something happened to her?"

"Well... We don't know; however, General Ironwood requested for all of you for urgent matters."

Ironwood receives a notice from Argus, 'We have found the ones you have been looking for and will arrive in Atlas by tonight.' Ironwood felt relieved that they were still in Argus; maybe with their help, they could get you where you once were. All that was left was to wait for their arrival.

It wasn't long when team RWBY, team JNR, Oscar, and Qrow made it to Atlas; Ironwood received word of their arrival; he quickly made his way to greet them. Maria was taken to Mantle since she was initially meant to be there since the beginning.

Ironwood smiles seeing the familiar faces, "It's good to see all of you again." He takes notice of Oscar, "I don't believe that we've met."
"General Ironwood, this is Oscar, he's traveled with us since Mistral."
Oscar steps forward, "I am also Ozpin."

"Oz." Ironwood smiles, "I didn't expect you to be here already-"
"I'm Ozpin, but not exactly."

"What? (Y/n) hasn't said anything about this."
"That's because she doesn't know the reason behind it, either," Ruby spoke up.

"General Ironwood, we have something to discuss."
"If it's about the maidens or the relics, I already know, (Y/n) told me when she arrived."

Qrow steps forward, "Is she here?" Ironwood didn't seem phased by the question. "Yes."
"Where is she?" Qrow questions, as Ironwood sighs, "Safe, she is slowly returning to her stable state."

"Stable?" Oscar questions, "General, if you don't mind me asking, what do you mean by stable?"
"You don't have her locked up."
"Locked up?" Yang glares at Ironwood, who sighs once again. Penny speaks up, "Oh, no! She isn't in any harm's way. In fact, we are preventing her from being in harm's way."

Everyone's eyes widen, "What does that..." Weiss lowers her voice, not wanting to continue her question.

"She tried to kill herself." Silence filled the room, Ruby and Blake's eyes widen, Weiss covered her mouth with her hands, and Yang looked at the ground sadly, "Why would she-"
Qrow slowly loses balance yet catches himself, hearing those words made him feel pain, something far worse than he had ever felt. Oscar looks at Qrow with a sadden stare, "I don't know, in a way I feel as if history is repeating, it's felt when I first brought her here. (Y/n) had a hard time... Living, luckily with time, she returned to her cheerful state, this time, however, we don't have much time, with the threat of Salem and those who follow underneath her. There is no telling what is going to happen."

Ironwood stood up from his seat and began walking towards the teams, "I hope with you all, she will get better. She doesn't know that any of you are here, and slowly find a common ground of what's going on. The only ones she was allowed to see are the Ace-Operatives, Winter, and I until any of you take part in her recovery. Worst-case scenario, she leaves."
"Like running away?"

"She returns to her Gods."

"You know about them?"
"Yes, she had a recent encounter with one of them recently no more than a month ago."

"That's when we were at the abandoned estate."
"That recent? But how did she-"

A knock is heard as Clover walks into the room, "General."

Ironwood nods to Clover, "Her condition?"
"It could be better; we should show her friends what exactly what we are dealing with."

Ironwood leads everyone to where they can see you, "Right now, she has been in the training arena; all she does is train against her summons or stays in her room."

Then the doors open; they had a view of you fighting against Ajin, "She can't hear or see any of you."
Ruby and Oscar rushed to the window, "She looks tired."
"Did she say anything about what's going on?"
Ironwood sighs then turns to Clover, signaling to speak, "She told me that she made a mistake, that she hid something from people she cared about. Sad to say that she doesn't know how to cope with it." Clover walks closer to the window, seeing you punch Ajin only to be knocked back a few feet, "She told us everything, the truth, so she called it. If she was with you all, perhaps a conflict happened that resulted in her becoming this way. I'll be going now, feel free to observe her behavior."

Qrow places a hand on the glass; Ruby touches her uncle's shoulder, "Uncle Qrow?" Clover quickly turned around, hearing the name, remembering how you cried to that name, "So it was you." Clover whispers as he walked past Qrow exiting the room. Qrow turns around, hearing what Clover muttered, concerned he faced back to the window.

Clover opens the door, you turn it face the door, Ajin stops his movement then turns into smoke, "James, sent you again?" You fall on to your back, feeling weary of your training.
"No, I came on my own account. Feeling better?" Clover grabs a bottle of water as he makes his way to you, "Better? Hm? If I say yes, will you believe me?"

"Yes, but the question is, would you lie to me?"
"No. I hate being watched. You, James, and the doctors watch me as if I'm an animal."

"It's not like that; we are afraid of your well being."
"Is it because of the Grimm? Is this a way to keep the Grimm away? As long as their 'mother' is stable, no Grimm roam around. That's why I said to lock me in the vault."
"Don't say that."

On the other side of the glass everyone watches closely, without taking his eyes off you, Qrow questions Ironwood, "How long was she like this?"
"Not long, three days, but I know for her, it feels like an eternity."

"Which was why you were persistent on us coming here." Weiss faces Ironwood, who nods. 
"Is there anything that we can do to help?" Blake questions.

"What if we see her right now?"
"That's right; if we can talk to her now, the sooner, we can understand what's going on through her head."

"Do what you must; however, I do have a request from Qrow." Qrow faces Ironwood, "I want you to keep a distance until further notice."
"What?"

"I think not; it would all be better if we all were to see her-" Yang is cut off by Ironwood.
"Do you know how much she cried?"

That question silenced the room; the next question went towards Qrow, "If she thought of you, it seemed like the world was going to end around her. Do you know how much she loved and cared for you, that what you said to her affected her?"
Ironwood says in a stern voice, Qrow punches the wall next to him, "Don't you think that I already thought of that?!"

You and Clover turn to the mirror, you stand up and begin walking to the mirror, you knew it was a two-way mirror and knew that's where you were being observed.

You stare at your reflection, Qrow stares back at you to him, it was almost as if you knew he was there. "(Y/n) What are you staring at?" Clover questions, you slowly turn around and make your way back to Clover. Qrow continued to watch you; your name escapes his lips, as if you heard him, "Myself- ow." You place your hand on your head; Clover rushes to you, "Hey! You should come on lay back down."

Qrow watches Clover, who he helps you, as Ironwood continues to speak, "I want you to talk to her last because I want you to see who we are dealing with. (Y/n) is terrifying, you've never seen what she's like when she only follows her instinct. Which is why she's called the Goddess of Grimm."

"Who else knows about her?"
"In this condition, no one other than the people in this room and the Ace-Operatives," Winter replies.

"Not even the council?"
"No, we feel she shouldn't be announced to the public unless any last resort."
"Last resort?"
"You know her connection with the Grimm if the Grimm becomes too much to manage, she will take care of them. That's why she's is keeping herself busy."

"It sounds like you plan to keep her here forever."
"You were not the first to say that." 

"If it's alright, I would like all of you to meet her tomorrow in the morning. I know today had a lot of information to take in. Penny, will you please escort them to their rooms?" Penny salutes to Ironwood as she begins to lead the group out of the room. Qrow and Ironwood were left alone in the room, "I apologize for my behavior earlier. She was hurting, and all she could think about was if you were okay."

"Hush now, my baby, be still now, don't cry,
Sleep as you're rocked by the stream,
Sleep and remember my last lullaby,
So I'll be with you when you dream." Your voice echoed in the training room as you follow Clover out of the training room, Qrow looks at you with determination, "I'll make it up to her, I'll find a way for us to get through this."

"And if you don't, I'll take matters in my own hands." Ironwood states as he exits the room, leaving Qrow alone.

End of Chapter.
This was a lot to write, I kept deleting and rewriting this chapter.
Sorry if it was fast-paced!
Stay safe!

Michaelis~