Ozpin: "Having seen the strength he had first hand, I would hope you do what you can for that. Mufasa was one of the strongest living beings in one of my first reincarnations. Even across Remnant we still heard tale of his abilities, even if they were exaggerated slightly. But that is a story for another time. Right now we need to figure out what to do next."
Taking a step away from the group, Ozpin holds his hand to his chin and begins pondering. To Topaz it was a rather comedic sight. A young boy doing the actions commonly seen from an older person. After a few moments of silence, there is a loud bang from outside which causes most everyone to jump. Topaz chuckles and cautiously makes his way towards the door to see what it was. Opening the door, he sees Penny lying in a crater smoking slightly. Rushing to her side he checks her over quickly and sees burn marks and the occasional red spark.
Ruby: "Penny!"
Blake: "What happened to her?"
Topaz: "I'm not sure exactly, but I have a guess."
Ruby: "What do you think happened? The last we saw of her she went with Maria and Dr. Polendina."
Topaz: "She's covered in burns Ruby. There is one person with such a vendetta against us and the rest of humanity that is a pyromaniac."
Ruby: "Who?!"
Pyrrha: "Cinder."
Ruby: "She's here?!"
Topaz: "It seems so. That means you need to be careful Ruby, she wants revenge after what you did at Beacon."
Ruby: "I didn't DO anything. Or at least I didn't mean to do anything."
Ozpin: "Intentionally or not, the girl still carries a vendetta for you Miss Rose. Do take whatever caution you can."
Ruby: "I will professor."
Penny begins to shift on the ground causing everyone to refocus on her. Opening her eyes, Topaz sees her irises are crimson red for a moment before changing back to their usual bright green.
Penny: "My friends?"
Ruby: "We're here Penny."
Penny: "I must… I must open the vault."
Jaune: "Woah there Penny. What's wrong."
Penny: "I-I do not know. But I must open the vault."
As she speaks every word, her body contorts and twitches. Red sparks and her irises change color with every twitch.
Topaz: "Professor Ozpin, any ideas how we can help her?"
Ozpin: "I do no know Topaz, I apologize. This area goes beyond my area of expertise. What I do know however, is that General Ironwood is somehow involved."
Topaz: "That wouldn't surprise me."
Neo: "Topaz!"
Topaz: "Neo? You made it."
Neo: "Yep, we hitched a ride."
Topaz: "Who on Remnant flew from Mantle to Atlas?"
Neo: "I never caught his name. He may have a death wish though, he was cackling the entire flight while ignoring all communications from Atlas Military."
Topaz: "Where is he now?"
Neo: "Arrested. As soon as he landed, he was forcefully taken out of the air ship. We snuck out the back when that was happening."
Topaz: "We? So the rest of the team are with you?"
Neo: "Yep, they should be here soon. We had split up to try and find you."
Topaz: "I'll wait out here until they get here. Everyone else take Penny inside and keep an eye on her."
Topaz watches everyone guide Neo into the mansion, the girls chatting the entire way as Ren and Jaune carefully guide Penny inside. Topaz walks around the mansion grounds while waiting for his friends to arrive, and after nearly twenty minutes of waiting, he hears the cries of grimm and metal on bone. Quickly sending teams RWBY and JNPR a message of what's going on he then rushes towards the sound of combat. Running for a few minutes, he finds his friends locked in combat with a large group of grimm. Rushing in, he leaps into the air and brings his spear down through the back of a manticore's head. Falling through the cloud of black dust, he rolls and jumps into a stab into two more beowolves.
Nova: "Topaz. Welcome to the fun."
Topaz: "Where did they come from? I thought this area was cleared."
Scarlett: "We have no clue. We met up a little ways back when that Emerald girl suddenly ran into Ariel. Ariel chased after her and then these guys fell from the sky."
Topaz: "Dammit!"
Spinning in a circle, Topaz slashes through a large number of grimm at once. With his teammates following suit, the group of grimm is quickly defeated. Turning to Scarlett, Topaz quickly gets close to her.
Topaz: "Which way?"
Scarlett: "They ran off that direction."
Scarlett points in the direction she watched the two run.
Topaz: "Thank you, now you two get to the mansion to meet with the others. I'll be back soon."
Nova: "No way man. Ariel may be your girlfriend, but she's our teammate too."
Topaz: "I can move faster by myself, trust in me."
Scarlett: "We always have, we just want you to know you don't have to go through it all by yourself."
Nova: "Yeah man. You're our teammate. We only want you to be safe as well."
Topaz: "I appreciate it guys, but I will be fine. I promise you both."
Scarlett: "Fine, but we will hold you to that."
Nodding quickly, Topaz transforms himself into a lion and quickly rushes in the direction Ariel ran towards. In no time at all, he sees Ariel holding her blade whip towards Emerald, who has her arms in the air. When Emerald sees a lion quickly rushes towards her, her eyes go wide and she falls back onto her ass blocking her face with her arms. Stopping next to Ariel, Topaz changes back to normal and growls.
Ariel: "Topaz, it's alright. And since when did you start growling?"
Topaz: "No clue. And what do you mean its alright?"
Emerald: "P-Please. I j-just want out of this."
Topaz: "You want out of this? After everything you've done, all the lives you've helped ruin. You want out."
Ariel: "Topaz, enough of that."
Emerald: "I know I shouldn't expect you two to trust what I say. I never wanted to hurt anyone. Cinder was the one who gave my life any meaning. I would do anything for her at one point in my life. But now… now she's blinded by her lust for power. I-I'm scared of what she'll do to me if I mess up again. I don't want to die."
Tears begin to fall from the corners of Emerald's eyes. The pain in her voice told Topaz everything he needed to know, and apparently Ariel was on the same page as he was. She leaned down and brought Emerald into a hug.
Ariel: "It'll be okay Emerald. We will stop Salem and Cinder when the time comes."
Topaz: "And anyone else who tries getting in our way."
Emerald sniffles once and then relaxes into the hug.
Topaz: "We should probably get back to the others. With how everything has been going it would be better not to worry them by being out here too long."
Ariel: "Right."
Ariel breaks the hug with Emerald and then offers a hand up. Emerald cautiously takes her hand and then gets to her feet.
Emerald: "T-Thank you."
Ariel: "Of course! We support our own."
Emerald: "Your own?"
Ariel: "Yeah, you're one of us now."
Emerald: "W-Well, fine! Hmph."
Emerald puffs her cheeks and crosses her arms over her chest in a grumpy manner causing Topaz and Ariel to break into laughter.
Topaz: "Alright girls, follow me."
Topaz leads the two girls through the alleyways eventually making their way into the Schnee grounds. Topaz knocks on the door and it opens quickly revealing Neo who throws herself into Topaz's arms.
Topaz: "See, I told you I would be fine."
Neo: "I knew you would. I just worry about you."
Yang: "What is SHE doing here?!"
Topaz looks over and sees Yang angrily stomping towards Emerald. Before she can do anything, Ariel steps in between the two of them arms raised defensively.
Yang: "Out of the way Ariel!"
Ariel: "No, she's with us."
Yang: "SHE has tried to kill us on multiple occasions!"
Topas: "Yang, that is enough. Emerald is going to be with us now, and here's why."
…