RWBY: A Huntress's Amnesia

Chapter 16: Mantle

We'd made it to Atlas.

Whenever the lower city of Mantle came into view, everyone on board our stolen airship to gather at the front.

"Wow," Sera commented. "That place looks like downtown Vale, but like, everywhere." She pointed at Mantle's dark streets. The entire lower city below Atlas's floating chunk of land looked like the shady side of town, except the whole town is shady.

"Manta Five-One, welcome home," a voice filtered through the radio. "Please continue your approach to Atlas docking bay Omega-twelve. A security team will meet you there. Over"

"I don't understand," Ruby said. "What's happening here?"

"I don't know," Qrow said, an uncertain look on his face.

"But we're here," Jaune said. "We got the lamp to Atlas. So, I guess we land and get some answers."

"I don't think so," Sera shook her head.

"Me either," Weiss said. "I've never seen our forces deployed so aggressively before. If we land on a stolen ship, there's no way they'll let us anywhere near Ironwood." Weiss watched Atlas with sad eyes. "They might even take me back to my father."

Team RWBYS looked at each uncertain yet determined eyes. There's no way they were going to let that happen, especially not after all the trouble they'd been through just to get here

"Winter!" Weiss thought aloud with wide eyes. She slipped her scroll out of her pocket and started typing. "Put as much distance between us and the fleet as you can," she told Maria.

"You don't need to tell me twice," the old lady responded.

"Just don't crash again, alright?" Sera deadpanned.

"Hmph," Maria huffed.

The airship flew across the city while Weiss tried to get in touch with her sister. Sera remembered Winter; they'd fought each other in Beacon's courtyard. Several months after, Sera wouldn't mind a rematch with Weiss's older sister.

The amnesiac hand was squeezed, and she looked over to see Yang at her side. Sera smiled and squeezed her hand back, interlacing their fingers tightly. Their shoulders touched lightly, and all worry in Sera's mind faded. Yang had a good way of doing that to her.

Everyone else was looking out at the rundown city with somber expressions. Civilians milled around as if in a daze. A lone Faunus with antlers on his head played a banjo in an alleyway.

"No matter what happens," Sera said in a hushed tone to Yang. "I'm not gonna let anything separate us all again."

"All of us, or me and you?" she smirked.

"I'll let you figure it out," Sera bumped her shoulder. She looked up when she heard General Ironwood's voice but returned her gaze to her team when she realized that it was only a recording on a very large screen. The general's beard had grown in fully since the last time they'd saw him.

"General Ironwood," Pyrrha said from beside Jaune. "He looks..."

"Tired," Ruby finished. "He looks so tired."

"James, what have you been doing?" Qrow asked the screen. Atlesian Knights patrolled the streets with guns while small chrome robots floated around as if they were watching everyone.

"This isn't right," Weiss said. She still couldn't get ahold of her sister. "None of this is right."

"Manta Five-One, we've noticed a detail in your route; you are to make your way to docking bay Omega-twelve immediately. Do you copy? Over." The woman over the speaker said, more urgently this time.