Rage & Hope: A RWBY Story

Chapter Ninety Six - Amity

As Razer, Aya and Penny made their way to the Amity Tower, they make their way to the Schnee Dust Mine and begin planting explosives. As they set up the explosives, Penny speaks to Razer and Aya. 

Penny: Razer. Aya. Do you...do you think we're doing the right thing?

Razer: We're doing the best we can with the situation we're given. I'll admit it's not the best of plans, it's our only option. It's not ideal, but it's all we got. 

Aya: If we can get the Amity Tower up and running, then we can broadcast Ruby's message and warn everyone about Salem. 

Penny took note of the words said by Razer and Aya. When they finished setting up the explosives, the three flew to the upper levels of the Tower. They soon meet up with Pietro who was with Maria Calavera at the base of the Tower.

Aya: The explosives are set up.

Pietro: All systems are ready. Penny?

Penny looks at him and then gets up and walks over.

Pietro: Amity is requesting launch access.....now.

Penny looks at the screen, which says "Connecting..." She looks down, waiting. Pietro and Maria look at Penny, and after a few moments, her eyes glow slightly. The tower's stabilizers activate, glowing purple, and Pietro and Maria celebrate.

Pietro: Oh yes, it worked!

Penny smiles, but then lowers her head. Pietro places his hand on her arm to comfort her, and she looks at him and smiles. He then begins typing on the computer again.

Pietro: Oh, I didn't have time to install seat belts, so I'd advise you to hang on.

Pietro taps a button on his walking chair, and parts of the chair's legs begin glowing purple. Maria laughs and walks away. The bombs in the Dust mine begin counting down from thirty seconds, and Penny begins helping Maria get back inside the mech. The three are soon distracted by a loud thud.

Razer: That doesn't sound good. 

What followed by a fireball flying up through the air. Penny flies over to the edge of the platform and looks down to see a huge hole where the fireball melted through from outside the colosseum. An airship levitates up from the smoke, and atop the airship stands Cinder Fall.

Cinder: And where do you think you're going?

Penny looks back at Pietro, who looks scared.

Pietro: Penny, no!

Against her father's wishes, Penny flies down and floats above the arena to face Cinder, drawing Floating Array. Cinder hops down from the airship with a grin, while Emerald Sustrai and Neopolitan exit the airship. The countdown on the bombs reaches zero, and the bombs explode, setting off a chain reaction of Dust eruptions. As the colorful explosions intensify, four jets on Amity Tower activate. The combined force causes the tower to begin flying into the air, which slams Penny into the floor. Cinder drops to one knee and steadies herself with her hands. Emerald has been forced to the floor by the tower's ascent. She looks at Cinder, who is focused on Penny.

Cinder: I was hoping your friends would be here. But it looks like they left you to do all the work.

Cinder begins spawning dozens of glowing hot glass swords on the floor around herself.

Cinder: You're just a tool to be used!

Penny: You do not know what you are talking about.

As Penny fights Cinder, Razer and Aya attempt to rejoin Penny, but were soon attacked by Emerald and Neo. Razer immediately sees and feels the presence of the Red Lantern Power Ring from Neo. 

Razer: So Vice's Ring came to you.....

At the same time, a blast of red light shatters through the ceiling as Bleez and Zilius Zox appearing. Razer immediately turned to face his former Red Lantern comrades. 

Razer: Bleez. Zilius Zox. 

Zilius Zox: Did you really think you could escape us for long, traitor? 

Bleez: We'll bring your head to Lord Atrocitus!

Razer: Then come and get it!

Razer then unleashes the power of his Red Lantern Ring on the two Red Lanterns. Despite being outnumbered, Razer held his own against the two Red Lanterns. At the same time, Aya was holding her own against Emerald and the Red Lantern Neo. Emerald attempts to use her Semblance to create the illusion of multiple enemies to throw Aya off, but Aya uses her scanners to see through the illusion. Neo then unleashes a relentless barrage of rage powered strikes using her Ring, but Aya was able to hold her back. Back with Razer, Bleez and Zilius Zox managed to get the upper hand on Razer, injuries several injuries on him. Razer then builds up his Power Ring and unleashes a powerful shockwave which blasts the two Red Lanterns out of the tower. Though still wounded, Razer rushed over to attack Emerald and Neo. During the attack, Neo manages to land a slash on Razer's chest, bringing him down. As Razer drops to his knees, Aya tends to Razer's wounds, allowing Emerald and Neo to escape with Cinder. After that, they make their way back to Pietro.

Penny: Dad! Are you okay?

She runs over to Pietro and kneels in front of him. The computer screen says "Broadcast Signal Lost".

Pietro: The stabilizer was damaged. We've missed our window. At this rate, we're likely to drift until touching down just north of....

The colosseum rumbles again, prompting everyone to begin making their escape. But Penny steps forward.

Penny: I can fix this.

Maria: What?

Penny: Our message is only a few minutes long. I can try and hold Amity in place until....

Pietro: Absolutely not! You're in no condition to do something like this. Even just the temperature out there could--

Penny: It is our only option.

Maria: She is right, Pietro. We have to remember the big picture....

Pietro: I don't care about the big picture! I care about my daughter! I lost you before. Are you asking me to go through that again? No. No. I want the chance to watch you live your life.

As Pietro says this, Penny steps forwards and hugs him. Realizing what needed to be done, Pietro relents. Razer and Aya soon step forward. 

Aya: We will help her. 

Penny flies down to the damaged stabilizer and begins pushing on it, using the jets in her feet. Razer and Aya guard Penny. Despite his wounds, Razer powers through. Penny activates her Maiden powers, and the jet she is producing increases greatly in size and changes from green to cyan. The computer plays a noise as the tower reaches broadcast range, playing Ruby's message all across Remnant.

Ruby(Broadcast): Um, uh. Hi. My name is Ruby Rose. I'm a Huntress. And if we've done everything right, then I'm talking to all of Remnant right now. Dr. Polendina can explain more later, but right now, you all need to know that the Kingdom of Atlas is under attack. Things are dire, and we need help. But please, try not to panic. This isn't some new enemy or invading Kingdom. This is a force we've faced before, for centuries...Salem. I know the idea of the Maidens and Relics seems...well...crazy, but I promise Professor Goodwitch of Beacon and Headmaster Theodore of Shade can verify all of this. They might even be able to help organize a way to fight back. But sadly, General Ironwood can no longer be trusted. We didn't have time to prepare for Salem. But now you do! Just because she can't be destroyed, doesn't mean she can't be beaten. If she really was unstoppable, she wouldn't have acted with such caution until now. She knows we're a threat. So even if we-- even if Atlas falls, you can't give up. I hope Amity Tower will help bring us all together. Because in the end, that's how we'll win....

Suddenly, the broadcast turned to static. 

Aya: We've lost the signal!

Aya turns to Penny and to her horror, she sees Penny flickering from green to red. She watched in horror as Penny loses consciousness and begins plummeting to the ground. Without hesitation, Razer and Aya rushed after Penny. In that moment, Ruby's warning had been sent across Remnant.