The Wild Geese: A RWBY Story

Chapter Forty Nine - Divide

After escaping from the Atlesian Forces, Pip and the Wild Geese made their way to slums in the crater beneath Atlas where they pick up Oscar who had been hiding among a group of Faunus. On the way there, they saw a huge whale Grimm approaching Mantle. It didn't take long for Pip to realize that Salem had arrived at Mantle. Once Pip and the Wild Geese arrived, they met by Joanna Greenleaf of the Happy Huntresses who take them to a restaurant to hide out where the rest of the Happy Huntresses were helping the Faunus. They soon see a broadcast showing the entire group as fugitives with arrest warrants. The gravity of the situation soon dawned upon everyone.

Oscar: I was stupid to think the general would listen. Every choice I've made was the wrong one, and now....

Pip: You've got nothing to be sorry about, kid. What happens now is on Ironwood's head. Let's just hope this doesn't come back to bite us in this ass.

Ruby: We don't know. The last we heard he was with Robyn, but....

Pip: Robyn was taken into custody by Ironwood's Drones....along with Qrow. 

Upon hearing this, Ruby and the others were shocked. 

Ruby: Uncle Qrow....

Pip: I'm sorry, Kiddo. I tried to get Qrow and Robyn out of there, but Tyrian Callows complicated things. Then Clover got killed and the Atlas Military got brought on our heads.....

The conversation was once more interrupted when Joanna entered the kitchen. It wasn't long before the Grimm sirens began blaring across the city.

Joanna: The largest Grimm horde ever seen is hovering over the tundra, and out there is a city full of people with no heat and, from what you told us, no more military protection. And while we're happy to give you guys a place to lie low for a while... It's time to get those people some help.

Ren: How? Ironwood is stopping all evacuations to Atlas. And we can't get them out of the city with Salem's forces surrounding us.

Joanna: The crater. Beneath Atlas. It's not safe, but it's warm, and with everyone in one place, we can do a better job protecting them. May can send you where you're needed most. We've got to get everyone down into that crater before nightfall. In the slums, we might have a chance.

As Joanna said this, it became clear that the situation was going to get worse before it got better.

Pip: So we got Salem's Grimm on one side and Ironwood's Atlas Military on the other. And we're all caught up in the middle. As of now, we're up shit's creek without a paddle. We're going to need a plan. 

Yang: We need to get out there and do what we can for Mantle.

Ruby: We need to do what we can for everyone. What about Amity? And telling the world about Salem? We can't do this alone. We need help.

Blake: Ruby's right. The Happy Huntresses are handling the evacuation better than we could. And there's a bigger picture.

Ruby soon turned to Pietro.

Ruby: Doctor? What would you need to launch Amity now?

Pietro: Uh... We've made decent progress on construction and fuel collection, all potentially manageable, but uh...hm....Amity was designed so it couldn't launch itself without first being granted clearance from General Ironwood's terminal.

Yang: Ruby, there is no way Ironwood will cooperate with us.

Pietro: It could work. There is more than one terminal. The one in his office and uh...one in the main Atlesian Military Compound....at the base of the city. You'd have to get into the compound somehow, then, uh, get inside the operations room, and then...hoo boy...I might need to think about this some more.

Yang: So what you're saying is it can't be done. It's pointless. And even if you got the message out, there's no guarantee help would come.

Ruby: It's not pointless! Atlas is only Salem's current target. She's not hiding anymore and once she's done here she'll move on to the rest of Remnant. We need to warn them!

It was clear that the group was divided on their next move. Pip could see the divide between his adopted nieces. Soon enough, Jaune stepped in.

Jaune: Okay. Okay...Then let's go for both. Get Amity up and running and evacuate Mantle.

Ruby: But that's how Salem got this far - by dividing us. We have to stick together.

Oscar: No. What Salem wants is to turn us against each other. Just like this. Jaune has a point. We can work separately and still be united.

Ruby was unsure about Jaune's plan. It was at this moment that X-49 stepped in.

Pip: Jaune might be on to something. The only way we can beat both Salem is if we work together. Both plans are vital for victory. If we don't warn the people of Remnant, it won't matter if we evacuate Mantle. And if we don't evacuate the people of Mantle, then we'd be leaving thousands to die. Mantle needs our help. Atlas needs our help. We've got a pretty big group so why not kill two birds with one stone?

With that, Ruby decided to go along with Jaune's plans. The group split up with those agreeing with Ruby joining her to try to use the Amity Tower to warn Remnant about Salem while those who agree with Yang joined her to helping Mantle. As the group were about to split up, Pip divided the Wild Geese into two groups with Pip joining Ruby's group. Before the two teams set out on their respective missions, Pip spoke with Ruby and Yang. It was clear to Pip that there was tension between his adopted nieces.

Pip: We'll be fine, girls. 

Yang: Do you really think splitting up is a good idea, Uncle Pip? What if something happens....

Pip: It won't. That's why we're here. 

Ruby: I....I hope you're right. 

Despite Pip's reassurance, Ruby and Yang were uncertain about what will happen next. In that moment, the larger group had split up to tackle both vital missions against Salem. With that, the group split up with Ruby's group boarding the airship to try and get the Amity Tower working while Yang's group remained behind to help with Mantle.