(A/N): Alright, Dark Siders, Light Siders, and everything in between. It's time to EXECUTE CHAPTER 66!!!
3rd. Person POV
Ironwood on PA speaker: Citizens of Mantle. Following the most recent Grimm attack, a temporary prohibition of assembly is now in effect. There are to be no public gatherings of any kind. Please conduct your business and return to your homes before curfew. This is for your own safety.
Ruby POV
Ironwood slammed his fist on his desk.
Ironwood: This is the worst case scenario! More people are dead, Penny's been framed, and somehow Jacques Schnee is sitting on the council!
Clover: That was the second shipment for Amity that was hit today. It seems election night was the last push Robyn needed to go from hometown hero to full-on vigilante.
Just then, (Y/N), Blake, Yang, and Vega burst into the room.
(Y/N) POV
(Y/N) furious: What the hell happened out there?
Vega equally furious: How did everything manage to go hell in the span of one night?
Qrow: Penny's on the chopping block and Jacques is on the council. As you can guess, not... good...
Winter: I'm afraid the problem is more complicated than that.
Ironwood let out a frustrated sigh.
Ironwood: It seems Robyn has emboldened our suppliers in Mantle. They're refusing to sell us provisions until the city is adequately repaired. With Robyn redistributing the goods her team has stolen, the Amity Project is completely stalled.
Ruby: But we're so close. There has to be some way we can finish the tower.
Winter: There is... declaring martial law.
There was a pause after that. The atmosphere in the room was tense as we waited for Ironwood to respond.
Nora: You're not actually considering that, are you?
Ironwood: What's more important? Establishing communications, unite the world? Or appeasing a few city blocks?
Nora: Don't make it sound trivial when you know it isn't. You keep talking about how we just need a little more time, but you're not the one having to struggle.
Ironwood: We have all had to make sacrifices for the greater good. Mantle has had to bear a lot of the burden, yes. But-
Nora: They're bearing all of it! The longer this waiting game goes on, the harder each day gets for people down there and now you want to send in more soldiers? You can't force people to fall in line. If you do that, you'll just be trading all of these problems for the grimm.
Now the atmosphere was even more tense than it had been before. The atmosphere was broken slightly by Ironwood sitting down at his desk, appearing to be collecting his thoughts.
Ruby: Please General Ironwood. Squeezing Mantle this way... that kind of division plays right into Salem's hands. That's why Tyrian is here framing you.
Clover: Right, the reason we called you here in the first place. You're sure this was the man you saw?
His scroll projected a hologram showing who I could only guess was Tyrian.
Winter: Tyrian Callows was accused of murders all across Anima. A homicidal maniac who escaped justice when his prison transport was attacked by grimm. After that, he was never seen again.
Ruby: Well, he works for Salem, and he's here.
Qrow: If we ever had any doubts Atlas was Salem's next target, I think those are officially out the window.
Just then, we heard a voice from nearby one of the pillars as I turned around to see it, I saw Darth Saeris leaning up against said pillar.
Saeris: Your doubts were already misplaced.
We were all shocked by this. Clover immediately grabbed his not-saber and ignited it.
Clover: It's him!
Ironwood: Clover... stand down.
Clover: What?
Saeris: Oh, is someone out of the loop? How sad.
Ironwood: Mr. Lockharte here has agreed to cooperate with us in the fight against Salem. So long as he cooperates, the warrant for his arrest is nullified.
Clover reluctantly deignited his not-saber and glared at the sith.
Saeris: Tyrian is an incredible threat to any huntsman. He's no ordinary serial killer, he's a master in the art of murder. Now that I think about it, Salem has an odd habit of hiring deadly Faunus serial killers... but I digress. Make no mistake, Tyrian Callows is an active orchestrator in whatever plan they have drawn up.
Ruby: Okay then, now we have a suspect. We can tell the people.
Saeris then laughed.
Yang annoyed: What's so funny?
Saeris: So, Ms. Rose, your plan is to tell the people that a long-lost serial killer from Mistral is loose in Mantle? Good luck with that! You would have a slightly better chance if you said I did it, cause at least I'm a long-lost serial killer from Mantle!
Nora: I am so sick of secrets! If we just told everyone about Amity, about Salem-
Ironwood: We can't!
We all looked towards the general.
Ironwood: If we talk about Amity now we risk Salem's forces, who we know are here, working to sabotage it. If we tell them about Salem now, we risk falling to the grimm before we can reunite Remnant. We have to finish the tower!
Several of us took a brief moment to process this.
Ironwood: I want Robyn Hill in custody. We can offer her a deal if she gets Mantle to cooperate.
Clover: We'll figure it out.
Ironwood: Anyone not assisting with Robyn needs to focus on Tyrian. I want to know who he's working with, where he's hiding, what he's planning, and how exactly that video of Penny got all over my kingdom... Do I make myself clear?
Several People: Yes sir.
Ren: Yes sir.
I looked to Ren, who had a serious and determined expression on his face.
Small Timeskip
Ruby POV
We were in Pietro's lab. Blakblaz, Vega, Weiss and I were watching the doctored footage of the attack on Robyn's party. On the wall, Penny stood on a platform with wires connected to her head.
Ruby: How is she doing?
Pietro: She's confused... scared... We'll have her recorded visual data shortly. That should prove her innocence, but the damage has already been done. The things people are saying about her... Ugh, if Penny hadn't been there, Robyn would be-
Pietro coughed mid sentence.
Ruby: I don't think Robyn was their target.
Blakblaz: She's right, it all seems to well played to be a coincidence. Robyn was unharmed, but several innocent supporters of hers still lay dead. Salem has always been out to divide the people, make them infight so they're easier to pick off. Penny was right where they wanted her.
Ruby: Just like at the Vytal Festival...
Pietro: And just like back then, someone is using our own technology against us. This doctored footage of Penny came from her work all around Mantle... stolen straight from our surveillance network.
Maria: Ugh, hacking, technology... Why can't people just do what they used to and fight to the death? A lot simpler if you ask me.
Pietro: Well, if we're dealing with the same enemy from Beacon, hacking into Mantle's system would be simple. Fortunately, the rest of Atlas is running on an upgraded network.
Weiss: And how would someone get access to that network?
Pietro: Well, only a few people have clearance. Ironwood, the council, our cybersecurity and surveillance leads, and maybe a select few who oversee critical systems like sewage or the heating grid.
Weiss: The heating grid runs in partnership with the Schnee Dust Company.
Ruby: What are you thinking?
Weiss shook her head.
Weiss: I don't know yet, but something isn't right.
Vega: You're just realizing this now?
I sighed and turned to Pietro.
Ruby: And how are you doing?
Pietro: If Maria hadn't offered to help me these past weeks, I'd have likely collapsed by now. Getting the communications tower into the sky seems impossible on it's own, but now, to think of what people wanna do to my girl...
Ruby: Even if the worst does happen... you can always reactivate her again, so maybe try not to worry so much.
Pietro looked at me.
Pietro: There's a reason why Penny is the only one of her kind... When the general first challenged us to find the next breakthrough in defense technology, most of my colleagues pursued more obvious choices. I was one of the few who believed in looking inward for inspiration.
Ruby: You wanted a protector with a soul.
Pietro: I did... And when General Ironwood saw her, he did too... Much to my surprise, the Penny Project was chosen over all the other proposals.
Weiss: Why would you be surprised? You created an artificial aura.
Pietro: Well, not quite...
Suddenly, Pietro's green aura flickered on his body. We softly gasped at this as the realization hit us.
Ruby: You have her part of yours?
Pietro: Yes... and each time I rebuild Penny, it takes a little more. If the people get their wish and she's destroyed... I won't be able to...
He began to cry a little.
Ruby: We'll find whoever's responsible... I promise...
Meanwhile in Mantle
Blake POV
We had Robyn cornered, in this situation we could finally talk to her.
Robyn: If Ironwood wants me, he'll have to send more than a couple of kids.
Yang: He is. Stopping the trucks alerted the Ace-Ops. We don't have long before they arrive, so please listen to us. You need to know the truth.
Robyn: You're stalling!
Blake: Amity Colosseum, all these supplies, they're for-
I hesitated. I then looked at Yang, who nodded at me.
Blake: They're for a new communications tower.
Robyn: That doesn't make any sense...
Yang: A new tower means the kingdoms can finally-
Robyn: I know what the tower means, fisticuffs.
She stepped forward and extended her hand.
Robyn: One of you take my hand.
Yang: What?
Robyn: You said time is short. Either take it or I'm gone.
I stepped forward and grabbed her hand. Both of our arms were then surrounded by a silvery aura.
Robyn: Tell me again, what is Ironwood building out in the tundra?
Blake: A new communications tower. He's trying to help everyone.
As soon as I finished that sentence, her aura changed to a green color. I then let go of her hand and exclaimed in shock.
Robyn: You're telling the truth.
Yang: Handy semblance.
Robyn: Why keep that a secret?
Blake: Because he doesn't know who he can trust. Atlas isn't out to get anybody. The people murdering civilians in Mantle are just trying to make it look that way. And if those same people learn about Amity, they'd do everything in their power to destroy it.
Robyn: So who are they? Who's actually behind this?
Harriet on comms: Yang, Blake, where are you?
Yang: We can't tell you that part yet.
Robyn: Bullsh-
Yang: Look, we are trusting you, so trust us when we say that Amity Tower needs to stay a secret until it's done. We just need a little more time.
We then heard soldiers yelling in the alley behind us.
Blake: Run! We'll throw them off!
Robyn: I won't stop until I know the whole truth.
With that, she took off down an adjacent alleyway. Yang and I then used the Force to throw a dumpster and some barrels in the way of that alley so the soldiers couldn't follow. We then went back to where we heard the soldiers' voices.
Meanwhile in Atlas
3rd. Person POV
As Ironwood and Oscar stepped out of the elevator, Winter handed the general a letter. He opened it, read it, and then turned to Oscar.
Ironwood: It looks like you're getting your wish.
Winter: My father's first act... We've all been invited to dinner... where the general will be defending his seat on the council.
The screen then cuts to black.
Saeris narration: Cut off the head... and it all falls dead.