Down in the Atlas Vault, Winter charges at Ironwood, swinging down her sword onto his prosthetic left arm. She then draws her smaller one and attempts to stab him with it, but Ironwood dodges and jumps back. He then tries to swing his hand cannon, but Winter jumps up on top of a nearby pillar, "Winter, do not blame me!"

Ironwood fires his cannon, and Winter moves out of the way as the blast destroys the top of the pillar. Winter then creates five glyphs that launch large ice shards toward the General. Ironwood rolls out of the way, "I have sacrificed everything!"

"No, you have sacrificed everyone else! You closed the borders; you squeezed Mantle until it broke! Everything (Y/n) cared for was destroyed by your cause."

The two continue trading blows. The weapons lock as Ironwood's cannon begins charging up again, "I've only done what's best for Remnant, and no one is grateful!"

"It wasn't for Remnant. It was your desperate attempt to get (Y/n)'s approval." Ironwood draws the white Due Process and uses it to pistol-whip Winter, disorienting her, "You don't know what she's really like."
Winter stumbles back, "Neither do you."

In the pocket dimension, Cinder and Penny fly at each other, using their respective Maiden powers to clash. They fly around as people continue to run towards the portal leading to Vacuo. Cinder launches a fireball hitting Penny in the back. She then tries to use her Grimm arm to grab Penny, but a Queen Lancer summoned by Weiss flies by and gets Penny out of the way. Nora watches the crowd of people running for the Vacuo portal, "Priority one."

Nora looks back to her leader, and they exchange nods, continuing with the evacuation.

Back on the Queen Lancer summon, "Weiss, all she ever wanted was the Maiden power. I can buy you all time."
"But, Penny..."

Suddenly, Weiss is struck in the back by a fireball, causing her Queen Lancer Summon to disappear. They fall onto one of the platforms, and both of their Auras flicker. Cinder lands nearby and smirks evilly. Penny gasps as Cinder looks to Weiss, the Staff of Creation, next to her. Penny suddenly gets up and blocks her path, "I'm right here! I'm what you want!"

"I want it all..."

Cinder launches herself forward but suddenly is kicked in the face by Blake, pushed back some distance away from them. Blake then looks to Weiss, "Get up!" Weiss does so, grabbing Myrtenaster and the Staff. She then runs off as Blake and Penny face Cinder, their weapons at the ready.

On the Atlas cargo ship carrying the bomb, Qrow and Harriet continue their fight. Harriet kicks Qrow into the wall, who groans in pain, "You're making a mistake, Harriet! What happened to Clover-"

Harriet growls, "Shut up ALREADY!!" She then turns around and uses her speed Semblance to cut the straps holding the bomb in place and then jumps to tilt the airship. The bomb starts to slide towards the open cargo door, and Qrow jumps in front of it, trying to hold it in place, "Get out of the way!"

Suddenly, the ship jolts. Qrow and Harriet look behind them and notice the other cargo ship being piloted by Robyn behind them. Vine uses his Semblance to hold Harriet's ship in place, being supported by Elm, using her Semblance to hold them both on top of the ship they're on. You step out of the ship with a melancholy expression.

"Hare, please! Don't do this! They're still evacuating in Mantle!"
"Why can't you just let me do my job?!"
"Because you're our friend! And we won't let you go through with this!"

Harriet is taken aback and lowers her head upon hearing these words. The bomb begins to slide forward more, and Qrow shoved out of its way, "No!"

Qrow takes out Clover's pin and closes his eyes somberly. The Ace Ops watch in shock as the bomb begins to near the edge of the ramp. Suddenly, it stops, and Qrow and the Ace Ops breathe a sigh of relief. Suddenly, the screen on the bomb says, "INITIATE COUNTDOWN" with the prompt for "YES" being highlighted. Qrow and Harriet look at each other in disbelief.

Back at Atlas Central Command, Arthur smirks after pressing the button for the bomb.

On the cargo ship, the bomb starts to count down thirty seconds, "The autopilot's locked! We gotta go!" Harriet falls to her knees, "There's no time to make it out of the blast range... I've... killed us all... I'm sorry..."
"If this works, I can save all of you. I need everyone to get on the other aircraft; I can-" Vine places his hand on your head, "You already have done plenty for us."

Vine uses his Semblance to reach the ship and then uses it again to place Harriet in Elm's arms. He looks at the bomb and ponders, "No... you could die." You attempt to push him away from the bomb; however, he doesn't budge, "I know." Vine smiles sadly, "If it means saving all my friends."

Harriet realizes what Vine is about to do, "NO!!!"
Harriet tries to reach out for Vine as Elm takes her inside Robyn's ship. You glance at Vine, "Lieutenant?" He extends his hand out to you, "Thank you."

"Say hi to Clover for me." You shake his hand.

"I'm sure he will be happy to hear that." Ajin picks you up, taking you to the other ship; Qrow and Vine solemnly acknowledge each other, "Please watch over her; before she loses everything again." Qrow nods before jumping out from the ship and transforming into his corvid form to fly away. Vine uses his Semblance, creating a barrier around the ship as the bomb continues to count down. The timer goes off, and the contained explosion causes the Vine's Aura barrier to disappear. A cloud of smoke is left in its wake as Robyn, Elm, and Harriet look on sadly. Robyn begins to fly the ship away from Atlas. 

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Back in the pocket dimension, "Whatever you wanted..." Ruby looks over her shoulder as she nears the edge of the walkway before facing Neo again, "I hope it was worth it."

Ruby spreads her arms wide, offering herself as a target. Neo extends Hush's blade as she prepares to go for the kill. She lunges, but Ruby deliberately falls backward before the blade can hit her; she then uses her Semblance to circle under the path, come up behind Neo and knock her over the edge, disarming her in the process. Ruby tries to catch the Staff, but Cinder launches a fire blast into her back, breaking her Aura and knocking her off the path. Ruby catches onto Neo's ankle, the former hanging from the edge of the path. Cinder grabs the Staff and approaches them. Neo reaches out to her, but Cinder's Grimm arm reaches past, grabbing the Lamp from Neo's belt.

"You should have never threatened me..."

Neo looks up at her in anger as Cinder kicks Hush over the edge into the abyss. Cinder's smirk turns to glare as she looks from Neo to Ruby, "And you..." Ruby tries to activate her Silver Eyes, "Should have never been born..."

Cinder uses the Staff to smash Neo's hand, causing her to lose her grip and fall. Ruby starts to fall with her, "RUBY!!!"

Penny flies in carrying Blake. Blake is thrown forward as Penny is knocked back by Cinder's fireball. Blake manages to grab Ruby. She uses Gambol Shroud to hook onto the platform. The two try to swing back up, but Cinder launches another fire jet that burns through Gambol Shroud's ribbon. Ruby and Blake fall and disappear into the abyss. Penny looks on, distraught, "No!"

Cinder prepares to attack Penny again but is struck by Dust rounds, "Get back!!"

Weiss holds Gambol Shroud in its pistol form, firing shots at Cinder as tears stream down her face. Jaune parachutes to Nora, "May, Joanna, any Huntsmen that went through that gate, bring 'em here!"

They shake hands as Nora heads through the Vacuo portal. Weiss is seen getting knocked back as Cinder hovers above her, "It figures that a Schnee would be the last one standing, letting all her friends die first."

Cinder spews a fire breath attack, but Penny flies in and blocks the attack with her Maiden swords, "You wouldn't know anything about friends..."

Cinder tries to attack again, but Jaune arrives and knocks her back using the gravity Dust in Crocea Mors' shield. Jaune, Penny, and Weiss, dual-wielding Myrtenaster and Gambol Shroud's katana, ready themselves to face Cinder again. Cinder gets back up, but suddenly her Grimm arm starts to act up, "She's back..."

Cinder creates a shockwave to knock the trio of teens back and then launches two flame swords that Penny blocks easily. Suddenly, Cinder creates flames in a V shape, separating Jaune, Penny, and Weiss. Penny looks to her friends but suddenly screams out in pain. She looks down and notices Cinder's Grimm arm impaling her chest and starting to drain her Maiden powers. Penny notices Weiss jumping in to fight Cinder again before falling over. She starts to lose consciousness from blood loss. Jaune comes into her view.

"Penny! Hold on!" He activates his Semblance to boost Penny's Aura, "My Semblance-"
"No... there's not enough time to heal me..."

Jaune notices Weiss and Cinder still fighting behind him, "She can't get the Staff and the power... but there is something you can do..."

Jaune is taken aback, "I don't know where the others are, but... Weiss will give us time!"
"Let me choose... this one thing... trust me...!" Jaune draws his sword, his tormented expression reflected on the blade. Cinder knocks away Gambol Shroud, and Weiss watches it fall into the abyss before being knocked to the ground by Cinder.

In the Atlas Vault, Ironwood lands a devastating blow on Winter, causing her Aura to dissipate.

Cinder prepares to finish Weiss but freezes when she hears Jaune scream out in anguish, her expression shocked. Jaune is standing over Penny's body as his tears drop to the floor. Her blood drips from his crimson-stained blade.

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In a white space, Penny taps her toes patiently. She then smiles as she notices someone, "Salutations! You made it!

Winter is entering the white space, "Where...? What is this?"
"I thought of you... and here we are."

Winter gasps in realization, "Oh, Penny..."
"It seemed fitting that it should be you. It was your power, after all."

"No, Penny. You were always the real Maiden at heart. I was just a machine... just... following orders."
Penny takes Winter's hands, "You were my friend." Penny transfers the Maiden powers to Winter.

Winter smiles, "Thank you... for trusting me with this. When you're... gone..."
"I won't be gone; I'll be part of you."
"Good. I'm glad." Winter begins to sob as Penny smiles one last time as she fades into light.

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Back in the Atlas Vault, "So... the destiny I chose for you has arrived."

Winter gets back up, "You chose nothing." She begins to levitate in the air, her weapons by her side, "This...was a gift."

She opens her eyes, blue Maiden flames coming from them. Ironwood looks on in shock. He fires another blast from his cannon, but Winter easily deflects it with an ice shield. The blast ricochets back at Ironwood, leaving a large smoke cloud on his position. Winter turns and flies into the portal.

________________________________________

Back in the pocket dimension, Cinder angrily launches herself forward to Jaune. He pushes her back with gravity Dust. She conjures a flaming sword and charges Jaune again. Jaune extends Crocea Mors to parry her swing, but the force of Cinder's attack shatters his blade. Jaune looks at his broken weapon in shock before he is knocked to the ground. Cinder advances on him, looking enraged, "Where did it go?!"

Suddenly, a blue blast hits Cinder. She angrily looks for where the blast came from and sees Winter floating above her. The two Maidens clash in midair, exchanging blows of magic and swords. Winter activates a glyph summoning a flock of small Nevermores. Cinder conjures more flaming swords and launches them at the Summons, destroying some of them. However, the rest get through and surround Cinder, attacking her from all sides. Cinder creates a large fireball to free herself from the flock.

Meanwhile, Jaune helps Weiss get away from the battle toward the gate to Vacuo. As the Maidens clash again, Winter snatches the Staff away from Cinder but is struck and drops it onto the path. Cinder notices Weiss and Jaune getting away, grins savagely, and launches a fireball at them. Jaune throws his Hard-Light shield grenade to block the attack, but they are both knocked back. Horrified, Winter flies toward them at high speed as the ground under them begins to glow, "No..."

Cinder balls her hand into a fist, causing the ground beneath Jaune and Weiss to explode. Jaune's Aura dissipates as Weiss is launched over the edge. "WEISS!" Winter watches helplessly as her younger sister falls into the abyss. Jaune gets back up as Winter levitates onto the walkway. She falls to her knees and cries, slamming her fist on the ground in grief. Her eyes narrow in anger as she stares up at Cinder, who has retrieved the Staff. Suddenly, the pocket dimension shakes as an enraged scream distracts the three of them.

"We need to go... Now." Winter glares at Cinder one last time, "You... are going to pay... for everything you've done!"

Winter and Jaune begin to retreat, and Cinder does the same, now having both the Staff and Lamp in her possession. Cinder exits through one of the portals leading to Atlas, and the walkways start to disappear. Jaune runs as fast as he can to the Vacuo portal. Winter notices this and tries to turn back for him but is unable to stop herself as she passes through the gate. Jaune tries to jump for it as the path gives way beneath him, but the portal disappears, and he falls into the abyss as well. 

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In Vacuo, Nora desperately bangs on the portal, unable to go back through due to it being one way. Atlas and Mantle civilians scream as they are attacked by Ravagers. Emerald, Oscar, and Ren do their best to fight them off. The horde of Grimm approaches them, but they get blown away. The trio and the civilians notice Winter using her maiden powers to levitate in the air. She notices Willow, Whitley, and Klein in the crowd, and tears stream from her eyes. The roar of Grimm gets her attention. She notices the horde of Ravagers and Sulfur Fish approaching. Winter screams out and prepares to take them all on.

________________________________________

Back in the Vault, Ironwood regains consciousness as he hears footsteps approaching him. Cinder walks down the stairs with a smirk on her face, carrying both Relics. As she looks up, her expression changes to fear. A black cloud of smoke sweeps down the elevator shaft, then circles around Cinder.

"I... I failed you again, master. They used the Staff to save thousands. Before our allies fell, Neopolitan... killed Ruby. And before Ruby and her teammates fell, they used the Lamp's final question." Ironwood looks up, gritting his teeth

The smoke swirls together in front of Cinder, materializing into Salem herself. Her eyes narrow as she listens to Cinder's words, "I couldn't stop them! I couldn't even stop the Maiden from escaping without putting the Relics in jeopardy... I'm... I'm sorry..."

Cinder kneels before Salem, presenting the Lamp and Staff to her. After a pause, Salem leans down, "In pursuit of a new world... No cost is too great. You've done well, Cinder. Our work here is done." She takes the Relics from Cinder.

Salem begins to walk away; Cinder follows, smirking. Ironwood, unable to get up, helplessly watches them pass him. He notices the white Due Process and begins crawling towards it, "You said they used the Staff. I assume you rid the world of their creation." Salem glances back at Cinder, "What did you create in its stead?"

"I merely added more flames to the fires of Atlas."
Salem merely smiles. Ironwood tries to aim his revolver at them. On hearing the sound of its hammer, Cinder glances back at him and smirks, "And that's... checkmate."

Cinder activates her Maiden powers and flies away. As Salem and Cinder fly away from the fallout. You watch from the cargo ship; your eyes shined gold, "Bring me to him." The moment you close your eyes, you find yourself in front of Ironwood, "It's like our roles have reversed." Ironwood looks up to see smoke appear in front of him, "Remember? Here is where you betrayed me."

"Why are you coming back?"

"I wanted to have one last talk." Color fades around Ironwood as you manifest in front of him, "What is there to talk about? Atlas is falling; it's over."
 "And why do you think it happened? You could have saved Atlas, along with Mantle."

You help Ironwood sit up, and you sit in front of him, "At the end of the day, your stupid ideology got you into trouble."
"It was an attempt for you to look at me."
You begin to raise your voice, "Why do you want my approval? My gaze? What do hope to gain from all this?!"

"Us arguing reminds me of old times."

You rake your fingers through his hair, "You should have listened."
"Maybe I should have, but there is no way to turn back time."

"I can't be soft around you. You harmed those I cherish, and now I know that I will do whatever it takes to keep the ones I love from being taken away from me, not again, not ever again." Ironwood sighs, "Perhaps I was too harsh with you; I should have run after you when you left. I should have told you how much you meant to me." Ironwood caresses your face, "Maybe it's a good thing that I end things here. Ironwood, even when you go to the afterlife, I won't be there." 

"I won't give you the satisfaction of me ending your life; I know you have been waiting for that." Ironwood sighs, "I assumed after what I have done to you, you'd hate me enough to kill me." You lean forward, "Since the secret of my history is out, I'll grant you one thing." 

You place your hands on the side of's Ironwood face; you kiss him for a brief moment, "That is your ticket when you go to the afterlife." You stand up, taking a step away from Ironwood, "For they would know you were once my friend." Your body turns to smoke; color filled the world once more as you open your eyes in the cargo ship. Qrow, Robyn, and the surviving Ace Ops watch sadly as Atlas and Mantle are abandoned. Qrow desperately screams out the names of his nieces as he tries to contact them, his expression turning horrified when they don't respond. A large tidal wave appears and engulfs both Atlas and Mantle. 

The flood continues until both cities have been fully submerged underwater. You take Qrow's hand,  "We will get through this like we always have."

____________________

You open your eyes, seeing darkness all around you, "This is new."
"I thought you would be scared of the dark?"
You smile, "As if I would be scared of you."
"You always seem to surprise me, My Saint."

____________________
[UNEDITED]

End of Volume 8!

Wow! This volume is completed; I am looking forward to the next volume and will try to work on more chapters for you guys! Thank you for reading! And hope to see you soon!