237Everyone had actually decided that, rather than jump right into the next movie, they all needed some time to process what they had learned about the recent events of their world and the fall of Atlas and Mantle. Several groups broke away from the main group, Jaune staying and sitting on the couch, holding his head in his hands, weeping about what he had done. "Jaune, you did what you had to do." Pyrrha assured him.
"She's right. Without you, Cinder would've gotten the Winter Maiden power on top of the Fall Maiden power. Then she would've been truly unstoppable." Ren told him.
"There had to have been another way. I should've done more." Jaune admitted.
"You did what I asked." A voice came from behind them. Team JNPR turned around to see Penny and Weiss standing side by side.
"Penny..." Nora said.
"Penny, I'm so sorry... You died because of me. It was all my fault." Jaune sobbed.
"Jaune, you did everything you could. You fought beside Penny and I, you protected us when we needed it and even held back Cinder for a small time." Weiss told him.
"Exactly. You have nothing to blame yourself for. Absolutely nothing. You killed me because it was MY last wish to you. The decision was mine and I made it. You were the instrument to do so. It was my last choice and you honored it. Like a true friend. You have nothing to blame yourself for. No one else does, so you have no right to blame yourself for it." Penny told him, giving him a hug while Weiss placed a hand on his shoulder.
"If anyone is to blame, it's me." Cinder told them as she walked up, looking ashamed and rubbing her arm. "Even before all of that, I'm the reason everything went South in Atlas. Just when it seemed like you all had one, I practically drove Ironwood insane by leaving that glass chess piece there. I had Neo steal the lantern that could have given you a valuable idea to save the kingdom and caused Team RWBY and you to fall and I killed Penny, right when you finally were getting to enjoy being real. I even betrayed Neo and Watts. Sure, Watts is a jerk, but he hardly deserves to burn to death and Neo was an incredible ally, who I'd only been abusing. One thing Watts did get right is that I'm only a migraine." She admitted, tears coming out of her eyes.
Pyrrha put a hand on her shoulder. "But the fact that you recognize that what you did was horrible is good. You haven't done these things yet, Cinder. And now, even I don't believe you will." She said.
"Exactly. No matter what your counterpart does now, it's not you. You can't be held responsible for her actions." Weiss added.
"And besides, we've seen how Salem could torture your future self with that Grimm arm. There's no way you could deny or disobey her without serious consequences. You're just as trapped by her as the rest of us." Ren stated.
"He's right. Salem is the reason you became like this in the first place. Well, her and your stepmother, but the point is, they tried to make you a certain way, but you're finding your own way now. That's what's important." Jaune added.
Penny walked up and placed a hand on Cinder's shoulder. "You've already become more powerful than your other self could hope to be, Cinder. Because you've gained two things she'll never have: insight and wisdom." She told the Half-Maiden.
Cinder sniffled a bit, before hugging Penny. "Thank you, Penny. Even as a robot, you're more human than I'll ever be." She said.
"You are far more human than you let yourself realize, Cinder." Penny told her comfortingly as team JNPR and Weiss joined in on the hug while Ruby watched from a distance with a smile.
In the bedroom, Ironwood leaned against a wall, holding his head. "How could I have become such a monster? I was worse than Salem herself! Hell, Whitley Schnee, the boy Jacques is hell-bent on turning as rotten as he is, came up with a situation to save all of Mantle, the people I abandoned and then I wouldn't have even had a reason to continue fighting with Ruby and the others! But what did I do!? I destroyed all those ships and try to nuke my own people! And this led to the deaths of two of my greatest soldiers! And I almost shot one of them!" Ironwood snapped, punching the wall.
"You were under a tremendous amount of stress, James. And I'll admit, it certainly didn't help that I was stubbornly hiding in the back of a child's mind, letting my students make all the hard decisions and in the end, making the exact same mistakes I did... All because they said harsh words to me when they learned the truth I hid from them." Ozpin explained.
"And besides, James, it wasn't totally your fault. Your Semblance is great in the heat of the moment when you need to push through tough times, but if those tough times don't stop and you don't get enough sleep, your Semblance takes over and pushes you in all the wrong ways. Trust me, as someone else whose Semblance was always active, it's a curse. Even the ninja kid in JNPR, his Semblance is only good for Grimm, but it beats the hell out of my old one and yours combined. Because he can control it and it can't take over him. So, the main thing you need to take away from this is to learn to take a freaking nap." Qrow told him.
"It's also important to select a second-in-command, someone who can take charge if you are otherwise incapacitated or unavailable. Because clearly, the military goes into absolute disarray if you aren't there to make even the tiniest decisions for them. For the world's greatest military power, James, you really need a better chain of command." Glynda added.
"Exactly. This is precisely the reason Katana is telling us all this, so we do not repeat the mistakes we made before and we can learn from the shortcomings of these heroes and villains to better ourselves as well. And sir, I believe you will be far better than the person you became because of these viewings." Winter declared.
Ironwood was surprised Winter said this, but smiled. "After all the things I asked of you as I made Atlas and Mantle fall apart, all I took from you, that you're still standing here beside me... Thank you, Winter." He said with a smile.
"It's not just my duty, sir, it's an honor to help you be the best you can be." Winter declared.
Katana stepped in at that moment. "I think I can also help you be the best you can be, general. By changing that Semblance of yours." She told him, placing a hand on his chest.
Suddenly, his aura flashed. "W-what did you do?" He asked.
"I changed your semblance. Just like I did with Qrow's. It's no longer your mettle, hyper-focus power. Instead, well... flare up your aura a bit." She instructed.
Ironwood nodded and powered his aura. Then, for a reason even he didn't understand, he shot his hand out, creating a large wall of aura that looked like a giant sheet of steel. He was shocked at this. "I-incredible." He said in awe.
"You've always wanted to protect people, to be the wall between them and the things that seek to harm them. Well, now you are." Katana said as she left the room.
"Well, that's convenient. Now we DEFINITELY wont' be having issues with your Semblance making you go crazy." Qrow said.
"Congratulations, James. I hope this new Semblance works better for you than your old one." Ozpin told him.
"Well, then. I believe the students would like to continue these viewings then." Glynda said, heading for the door.
"Excellent idea. Some action and comedy could do us all some good now." Winter agreed, following the older woman, the males following shortly behind.
The group soon came back together and took their seats as Katana walked in front of all of them. "Alright, everyone. Now it is time for the adventures of Tony Stark to continue." She declared.
"Whoo! Yeah! More Iron Man!" Ruby cheered.
"I am quite looking forward to what new modifications he made to his suits!" Penny said excitedly.
"You said this one was kind of disappointing, though, right? Why is that?" Emerald asked.
"Well, Tony's... quite different in this movie, in a way a lot of people didn't really enjoy." Katana explained.
"How's he different? Please tell me he hasn't gone back to drinking and womanizing?" Winter asked.
"I can safely say that's not the case, but... You'll just have to watch and see." Katana stated.
"That's always been the plan." Qrow said with a shrug.
"And one one final point, without spoiling too much. Cinder, I don't think you'll be very happy with the villains in this one." Katana warned her.
"Me in particular? Why, are they ridiculously try-hard evil like I was in that Chibi universe?" Cinder asked, the students having stumbled across Chibi in their free time.
"Once again, you'll have to wait and see. No more talking now. It is time... for Iron Man 3." The ice demon declared, playing the movie.