Out in the Open

***Out in the Open*** is the seventh episode of *The RWBYA Adventures*.

## Plot

*[The Manta airship holding the Ace-Ops, Teams RWBY and JNPR, and Qrow flies towards Mantle. Or, rather, it crashes towards mantle, with a Teryx Grimm on its windshield. Harriet pilots the Manta, attempting in vain to shake the beast. The creature roars at them, only for the roar to be cut off The group looked confused until they noticed a barrage of yellow appendages impaling the Teryx at multiple points on its body. The Teryx was ripped from the ship and tossed to its icy grave by Not Another Squid Alien, who then landed atop the ship. Another Teryx swooped in, destroying one of the two wings of the ship.]*

NASA: SHIT!

Qrow: It's time to go!

NASA: I'll try to hold the ship steady for you guys to get out! Once it's clear, I'll steer it away from the city!

Clover: Got it! The rest of you have your team assignments. *[spins his pin with his thumb]* Good luck!

*[Clover opens the door of the ship, cockily staring away from an approaching Teryx which is hit by one a piece of the ship as it flies off. The rest, aside from Harriet, Qrow, Ruby, and Clover, then jumped from the ship. On the top of the ship, NASA had wrapped his tentacles around the aircraft, using his tentacle-wings to keep afloat. Harriet uses Fast Knuckles to shatter the windshield, then smirks back at Ruby.]*

Harriet: Try to keep up, kid.

*[Ruby grins, and both of them activate their speed Semblances simultaneously to leave the ship via the windshield. Clover does a half-cocked salute to Qrow as he jumps from the door, prompting a smirk from the latter.]*

Qrow: Show off.

*[Qrow then does a front-flip from the ship, taking on his bird form mid-air. NASA groans as he uses all of his strength to aim the ship away from Mantle, then lets go of it, allowing it to fly off into the distance. However, he then gets attacked by the other Teryx, which grabs hold of him while headed in the same direction as the crashing ship, the two plummeting towards the ground.]*

*[The Manta crash was seen just outside Mantle. The Teryx had become a plume of smoke from having killed itself in the crash. A liquid slowly poured from the scene, appearing as a gradient of pink to purple. The liquid then reformed itself into the small, two-headed Indestructiblob before becoming human as he groaned.]*

Alan: ...Ow.

*[Rubbing his shoulder in pain, Alan quickly stood up and activated the Simplicitrix again, becoming Paralite then flying towards Mantle. Flying into the city, Paralite put his wings to his sides, using his built up momentum to act like a bit of a missile as he bashes through a Manticore that was closing in on Team RWBY. Paralite then landed and became human again.]*

Alan: What's say we get a bit of an upper hand?

Yang: What did you have in mind?

*[Hitting the Simplicitrix's core, Alan became Zerox. Hearing the sound of a Grimm nearby, Zerox quickly looked down and scanned the Simplicitrix located on his left pectoral. After a moment, he moved his head tendrils to point at Team RWBY, and from each spawned a Simplicitrix copy that looked like its original form. Each one was stylized like the clothing of the respective Team RWBY member, and each core was their respective eye colors.]*

Zerox: Under normal circumstances, those would work almost as well as the original, but we're on a schedule. I was only able to program in one transformation each. After you're done with that, you'll be left to your own devices. *[reverts back to human]* Make the transformation count.

Ruby: *[nods]* Let's make it happen, Team RWBYA.

*[Blake and Yang headed off, while Weiss stuck with Ruby. Alan cocked an eyebrow.]*

Alan: Team "RWBYA?"

Ruby: *[chuckles awkwardly]* Heh. It means blonde, so... It's still a color.

*[Alan reciprocated the chuckle before once again transforming. His body was consumed by deep lavender rocks and a bright purple flame as he became Embird. He then took to the skies once again.]*

Embird: I'll keep an eye on what aliens you guys end up as, and try to keep in touch about what they can do.

*[Embird flew at another Manticore, using his flame wings to disintegrate the beast. Flying across the city, he did similar moves on other flying Grimm, until he reached a high rooftop and landed, transforming back. The activated his comms.]*

Alan: Penny. I'm in position.

Penny *(voice)*: I'm on the way!

*[Alan looked to the skies, seeing a bright green light approaching.]*

Alan: *[breathes deeply]* Three... Two... One...

*[Alan lifted his hand into the air, and was suddenly swept from the building as Penny grabbed hold of him. With the two now flying in the air, Alan hit the core of the Simplicitrix, turning into Upgrade and merging with Penny.]*

Upgrade: Ha, ha! We're Upgrade ready!

*[Penny smiled at the comment, then turned to surprise as a Teryx and Manticore began gaining on them. Pennygrade put their legs together, creating a rocket out of their feet that increased their speed; the energy blasted by the rocket also disintegrate the two Grimm.]*

*[Ruby and Weiss stood guard before two charging Megoliaths. Smirking, Ruby hit down on her Simplicitrix copy. In a flash of silver light, Ruby became a humanoid angler fish with a top-heavy body. Upgrade's voice came over the comms.]*

Upgrade *(voice)*: Intangler, he can use his lure turn things ethereal so they can't hurt or be hurt in the traditional sense.

*[Intangler used her lure to fire a beam at the Megoliaths, which caused the two of them to pass by herself and Weiss with ease before she used the beam on them again, causing them to become corporeal again upon hitting a building, their tusks becoming lodged into the wall. Weiss then activated her light blue Simplicitrix. Her body was changed into a particularly large, scorpion-like alien.]*

Warpion: This is disgusting.

Upgrade *(voice)*: ...Interesting. You're Warpion. The poison in his tail creates incredibly painful genetic mutations. What it'll do to a Grimm? I'm not entirely sure.

Warpion: ...One way to find out, I suppose.

*[Warpion scuttled her way over to the Megoliaths, and the peeled orange-like tip of her tail opened, firing off blobs of purplish toxins that hit the two Grimm. Both emitted loud, painful trumpeting, as their bodies changed rapidly. One of them grew bird-like wings, and the other gained long arms with clawed fingers. Red, cord-like growths with white blades on the end grew out of one, while the other suddenly seemed to form a parasitic twin in the form of a person-like Grimm atop its back. Eventually, the toxic gene pools disintegrated the Grimm. A blob of the toxins fell off a Megoliath, and Intangler noticed it was about to fall onto a cowering civilian.]*

Intangler: NO!

Upgrade *(voice)*: Hold on! We'll circle back and-

*[In a panic, Intangler rushed over to the civilian, turning into a flurry of rose petals as she managed to swoop the civilian out of harm's way just in time, then both she and Warpion became human again, their Simplicitrixes disintegrating.]*

Upgrade *(voice)*: ....How did you do that?

Ruby: ....M-My Semblance?

Upgrade *(voice)*: That's incredibly odd. Powers don't translate between transformations like that.

Weiss: *[uses her Glyphs to levitate and throw away three approaching Sabyrs while talking]* Semblances are tied to our souls. As long as we have those, we have the Semblance.

Upgrade *(voice)*: Hm. I suppose that makes sense. Wonder if Blake and Yang are having any luck with theirs...

*[Blake ran down the streets of Mantle, being chased by multiple Sabyrs and a Megoliath. The Sabyrs began pouncing at her, prompting her to use her Semblance to dodge, including Dust in her Shadow clones to do additional damage with Fire, Ice, and Rock. Using the ribbon of Gambol Shroud, Blake swung herself up in the air, and, upon sheathing the weapon, hit the yellow Simplicitrix on her wrist, allowing her to transform mid-air before falling to the ground as a disproportionate, samurai-like alien with gigantic hands.]*

Upgrade *(voice)*: Slapstrike's hands, in addition to being large and in charge, can leave residual pain. The resulting blow will cause any touched injuries to hurt tenfold what they normally would.

*[Slapstrike looked up at the Megoliath approaching. Placing her hands to the ground, Slapstrike launched herself towards the beast, flipping around then backhanding it. Yang's shouting could be heard as she used her own weapon's recoil to near the Grimm, punching its underbelly multiple times and leaving explosives on it, which she detonated upon getting out from harm's way. With the Megoliath disintegrating, the two turned at the sound of approaching Frosted Beowolves. Yang scrolled through her lilac-colored Simplicitrix.]*

Yang: *[smirks upon seeing a hologram she likes]* How about a cute little pony?

*[Yang hit the Simplicitrix's core, turning into a cross between a unicorn and a unicycle.]*

Alan: Unitaur's horn creates magical orbs. I'm not sure it's as powerful as a Maiden, but it'll get the job done.

*[A Frosted Beowolf attempted to slash at Unitaur, causing her lilac eyes to turn red with anger. Her horn charged up, firing off multiple orange orbs. The orbs rolled and bounced towards the Grimm, igniting eventually and exploding the creatures in fire. Turning she fired off more, these ones being blue before hitting the Beowolves and turning into water, which instantly froze around the creatures, followed up by Slapstrike landing a hit to them that destroyed them. Both of them transformed to their default forms, their Simplicitrix's disappearing after.]*

Yang: Alright, this area should be clear now.

Blake: Onto the next.

*[Another, particularly large, Megoliath charged down the street, headed straight for Ruby and Harriet. As the two prepped themselves, Pennygrade flew into the scene. Using Upgraded Floating Array, the two plunged ten energy beams into the side of the beast's face. Roaring in pain, the beast slung its head, hurling Penny a few blocks away as Upgrade detached from her, landing on a rooftop and changing back to human, coughing some as he did. Ruby flew overhead towards Penny with her Petal Burst form. Rolling over, Alan peaked over the rooftop, his eyes widening as he saw Harriet in the precarious position of trying to hold up the foot of the Megoliath from underneath it.]*

Alan: HARRIET!

*[Alan jumped down from the building and was swarmed in red light. As the Grimm attempted to apply more force to Harriet, she was knocked out from under its weight by a purple and gold blur. The Megoliath's foot landed, causing it to become disoriented some. Harriet groaned a bit, then looked to see Alan having used the small alien Crabtastic to knock her out of harm's way.]*

Harriet: Thanks for the save.

Alan: *[helps Harriet up upon transforming back]* Don't mention it. Really. Please don't.

*[The two then looked back at the Grimm in fear as it trumpeted. However, it was distracted by a beam of green energy hitting it.]*

Penny: OVER HERE, YOU BIG BAG OF BONES!

*[The Megoliath roared and chased after Penny, prompting Alan and Harriet to sigh with relief.]*

Alan: I suppose they've got that one, then.

*[Suddenly, the otherwise dimly lit street was brightened by a cyan flash of light from behind them. Turning, they saw a hologram projection of Robyn Hill.]*

Robyn: Atlas, Mantle. I know you're scared. I'm here with General Ironwood, and we have a message for you.

*[The camera filming Robyn zoomed out to show that she was holding Ironwood's left hand, and their hands were both glowing with green Aura.]*

Robyn: What he has to say may sound unbelievable... but it is all *true*.

Ironwood: An ancient and terrible evil lies outside of our Kingdom. It was responsible for the destruction of Beacon, the attack on Haven, and for the recent attacks on Mantle. This powerful force goes by the name of Salem.

*[Harriet stared at the screen in shock, then furrowed her brow as she heard a sniffling sound. She turned to Alan, and her surprised expression returned, noticing a small tear trail down his face.]*

Alan: S-S-Sorry. After all this stress, knowing he's doing the right thing is... A huge relief.

*[Harriet then scoffed with a smirk.]*

Ironwood: Salem seeks only to divide us. To turn us against each other. If she can incite hatred in us, then we will lure in the Grimm and destroy ourselves.

Robyn: Salem herself does not work alone. Her minions have invaded our very city.

Ironwood: Arthur Watts and Tyrian Callows.

*[Upon Ironwood saying their names, images of the two briefly appeared on the screen.]*

Ironwood: These men are the ones responsible for the recent murders in Mantle and for sabotaging the heating grid. But we cannot let ourselves give in to fear and panic. That is what she wants! Instead, we must unite, and fight back, together. Every single one of us!

*[Harriet and Alan then traded smirking glances.]*

Harriet: How's about we find out who's really faster?

Alan: You're on, cottontail.

*[Harriet flicked her nose with her thumb, then activated her Semblance to take off down the street. For a moment, she believed herself to be in the lead, at least until she was passed by a small, black and yellow blur, with Black Lightning mockingly looking back at her as he took off beyond her, prompting her to scoff while following.]*

*[About an hour and a half later, the group continued fighting Grimm, very clearly running on fumes by this point. Harriet punched her Fast Knuckles through a Grimm, panting heavily upon its disintegration. Igknight blasted a few more Manticores from the sky, causing them to go up in explosions as the died before he transformed to his human form, just as exhausted.]*

Harriet: If we keep this up... We won't have enough energy for what else is to come...

Alan: Please tell me you're not considering giving up... We've still got a job to do...

Harriet: No... No, you're right.

Alan: *[smirks]* Mind saying that again so I can record it?

Harriet: Very funny. Come on. We'll see if the west needs any backu-

*[Harriet got a notification in her earpiece. Putting her hand to it, she listened intently before nodding.]*

Harriet: Of course, sir. We'll be there.

Alan: New orders?

Harriet: General Ironwood's calling us back to Atlas.

Alan: Wh-What? Why?

Harriet: If the General says he needs us, then he needs us. We don't need to understand the orders to follow them.

Alan: That is the most bullshit sentence I've ever heard.

Harriet: Excuse me?

*[Alan silently turned around with an eye roll, making his way down the street, away from Harriet.]*

Harriet: ALAN! *[continues to be ignored by Alan]* NOMALY! GET BACK HERE!

*[Alan nonchalantly lifted his hand, flipping the bird at her while continuing to walk away, only increasing her anger.]*

Harriet: ...HEY! Didn't you hear me?! The General called us back!

Alan: *[turns around, incredibly livid]* There are still Grimm to kill and people to save! Our business here isn't done!

Harriet: It is if the General says it is!

Alan: I don't fucking work for him! You wanna abandon this?! Abandon all these people?! Even *after* you said I was right?! Go ahead! I'm not done!

*[Harriet scowled at him before turning away.]*

Alan: ...Bitch.

*[Hearing this, Harriet's eyes narrowed, and she spun around, activating her electric Super Speed to rush at him. She activated her Fast Knuckles and attempted a strike on him, but was surprised when he caught the punch in his Simplicitrix hand.]*

Alan: And I thought you Atlas Special Operatives were supposed to repress emotions.

*[Harriet's eyes flashed the yellow of her Semblance as her anger increased. She attempted another punch, only for Alan to catch that one as well, grimacing just a tad from his other hand not being as protected.]*

Alan: You don't wanna do this, Bree. The only reason your group got me last time was cause your leader's a beacon of luck. You try to fight me on your own? You wouldn't last.

Harriet: Pssh. With both hands busy, you can't even reach your-

*[The red flash of Alan's remote transformation cut Harriet off, her look turning to surprise as Alan became Torquetoise.]*

Torquetoise: You were saying?

*[Torquetoise used his strength to throw Harriet back, though she skidded to a halt as she regained her balance and control, looking back up at Torquetoise with a death glare. She once again activated her Semblance, yellow electricity sparking around her as she rushed towards him, landing a direct blow to his chest. Realizing this did nothing, she groaned, and began speeding around him, throwing as many attacks at him from different directions as possible. Zooming back around to his front, she once again tried to land a blow, only for him to lift up his arm at the exact right second, causing her to be blasted away in a red explosion from the kinetic energy built up in his shell. Harriet flew back, rolling across the street as her Aura flashed, being at a critically low level. Tired, but still fueled by her anger and determination, Harriet rolled over, slowly bringing herself back to her feet. Deep footsteps could be heard approaching, prompting Harriet to glance up, seeing Torquetoise slowly but surely making his way closer. Harriet forced herself upright, before making her way towards him as well. The two increased their speed, albeit slowly, Harriet's due to her low Aura, and Torquetoise's due to his low speed anyway. Reaching one another, each attempted to throw a blow towards the other.]*

***STAY!***

*[The two were prevented from being able to land their hits as Marrow used his Semblance, pointing at the both of them and trying to concentrate on keeping them still. Accompanying him were Weiss and Ruby.]*

Weiss: What is going on here?!

Ruby: We're supposed to be working together! If you guys are going to be fighting, then Salem's already got the upper hand!

*[Harriet and Torquetoise glanced at them while pondering, only to glare at each other once again. Weiss sighed, and used her black Glyphs to move them apart as Marrow undid his Semblance, allowing the two to move again, resulting in Harriet punching the air, while Torquetoise's fist landed in the concrete road just before he transformed back.]*

Harriet: *[pauses then scoffs]* He started it.

Alan: That's not actually true. *You* threw the first punch.

*[Growling in frustration, Harriet went to run at Alan again, but was stopped as Ruby stepped in front of her, who then turned to Alan.]*

Ruby: We'll worry about what General Ironwood wants. You stay here and help with the evacuation as best you can.

Alan: Yeah. Right. That's what I was going to do anyway.

*[Alan turned and began walking away, with Harriet going in the opposite direction, closely followed by Marrow. Ruby and Weiss glanced and nodded at each other, Ruby following Marrow and Harriet, while Weiss caught up with Alan.]*

Weiss: Alan. *[gets no response]* ....Alan!

Alan: *[sighs and turns to face her]* Wh-

*[Alan's eyes widened tremendously as he stopped talking, Weiss having planted a kiss directly to his lips which she held for a moment. When she pulled away, her face blushed a bit,with a smile, while Alan remained dumbstruck.]*

Weiss: B-Be safe.

Alan: ......R-Right. S-Safe. G-G-G-Got it...

*[Weiss' looking at Alan lingered before she turned, using her Glyphs to catch up with the others. A Sabyr rounded the corner of an alleyway behind Alan, and growled quietly before charging and leaping at him. Alan turned about, the Sabyr being sliced in half by a sword, as he had switched to Blamurai in the blink of an eye. As the Grimm turned to ash, Blamurai noticed a group of innocent civilians cowering near a building as a group of Frosted Beowolves closed in on them.]*

Blamurai: Priority one.

*[Blamurai gripped the hilt of his sword with both hands, closing his eyes while taking a deep breath. He seemed to activate some form of zen mode, and all the time and noise around him came to a slow, silent halt. He then abruptly opened his eyes, rushing towards the Grimm as time around him stayed still. Blamurai began moving his sword around in a mix of stabbing and slashing motions. All of his hits landed on the Grimm, though none seemed to do anything. At least, not until he landed on the ground upon using one final blow, and time resumed, causing the Beowolves to die. Breathing heavily, Blamurai turned to the frightened civilians.]*

Blamurai: Get to the Crater. The airships escorting people to Atlas will be there.

*[The civies nodded, but all of them and Blamurai turned their attention to the sound of a young girl crying out in fear down the street as a Megoliath drew closer to her. Blamurai began making his way towards her, only to stop dead in his tracks, still a good ways away from the scene. He swung his sword around before plunging its blade into the ground. The sword resonating, sending out red waves of energy throughout the earth. The waves seem to travel the entirety of Remnant, as Blamurai envisioned a map of the entire planet He then took off at an impossible speed, pulling his blade from the concrete streets. Reaching the Megoliath, Blamurai slid beneath the beast and came to a halt right in front of the girl. Turning back tot he Grimm, he sliced his sword in the air. There was a deafening silence, only broken by the Megoliath's pounding footsteps... Until a wave of energy caused a loud, wooshing noise as a rift was opened up, shining bright sunlight into the otherwise nighttime scene. The Megoliath trumpeted much like any normal elephant, being dragged against its will through the bright rift, ending up in the dangerous, sandy dunes of Vacuo's wilderness before the rift then closed. Blamurai sheathed his weapon, breathing heavily as he looked to the young girl.]*

Blamurai: You okay?

*[The young girl nodded, and Blamurai gently picked her up, running back to the others at a brisk pace, trying to be quick at the same time of being careful not to drop the girl. Reaching the group, Blamurai handed the girl to one of the civies.]*

Blamurai: The Crater. Now.

*[The person nodded before the entire group ran off to get to safety. Blamurai sighed, his energy draining, then looked down another street, having a perfect view of the hole in Mantle's wall.]*

Blamurai: ...Hmmm. I wonder...

*[Blamurai reached the wall, examining it before stepping to the other side, looking at the glacier tundra that lie outside, crawling with the Creatures of Grimm. Pondering, Blamurai stuck his sword into the wall, once again generating energy waves, though this was only for the wall this time. He then swiftly moved the blade from the wall to the ice, creating waves across the glacier. Sighing and focusing, Blamurai jumped back through the hole in the wall, followed by huge chunks of the glacier being pulled in place to block up the hole. The blade remained in the center as the glacier pieces fell into place, and red energy flashed between all the cracks. When the energy subsided, the pieces had been melded into one. Blamurai retracted his blade and sighed, transforming into his human self before falling to his knees, having lost his energy almost entirely.]*

Alan: ...F-F-.... F... Damn...

How long could you have done that?

*[Alan drearily looked up, seeing Joanna, May, and Fiona appear out of thin air due to May's Invisibility, May having been the one to ask. Alan sighed with a slight smirk]*

Alan: I-I'm not sure. Th-That alien's got a *lot* of secrets, and I only know a small fraction of them. Just k-kinda winged it.

Joanna: Well, it at least cuts off anymore grounded Grimm from getting into the city. There's still things like the Teryx and Manticores to worry about, though.

Fiona: And we still need to take care of the Grimm still in the city.

Alan: *[groaning as he gets up]* I'm spent on energy, right now. I'm not sure how long it'll take before I can transform again. *[cracks his neck]* In the meantime, priority one is still getting the people to safety.

May: We can handle the Grimm, then. You get the people to safety, and we'll cut a path through the Creatures for you.

*[Alan gave a nod with a confident smirk.]*

*[A number of Grimm were mowed down by Fiona and Joanna using their crossbow staffs. Between them, May's invisibility field hid her, a group of civilians, and Alan taking up the rear flank. The group made their way to the entrance of the crater, where some of the airships were landed to bring people to Atlas. May's Semblance dropped, and the civilians rushed to the ships to be taken to safety. Alan sighed with relief, and the four of them headed back out into the city.]*

Fiona: We should probably check if there are anymore hospitals needing help.

Joanna: It seems like we're doing a bit more heavy lifting now than earlier.

Alan: Ironwood called back the Ace-Ops and both Teams RWBY and JNPR. I don't know why, and I haven't heard from them since then.

*[The group stopped walking upon hearing a beeping noise. They turned their attention to the Simplicitrix, which had a hologram of Ruby's Huntress profile.]*

May: Well. Maybe that'll give us some answers.

*[Alan tapped the hologram, activating the comms with Ruby.]*

Alan: Ruby, wh-

Ruby *(voice)*: IRONWOOD'S DECLARING MARTIAL LAW AND ABANDONING MANTLE!

*[All four of them gasped in response to the sudden shouting of Ironwood's actions.]*

Ruby *(voice)*: SALEM IS COMING, AND HE'S GOING TO USE THE STAFF TO MOVE ATLAS! IF WE DON'T STOP HIM, MANTLE'S GOING TO BE DES-

*[The comms cut out, with the communication logo having a slash through it and the word "LOCKED" displayed across the hologram. The group stood in shock, with Alan's look slowly fading into anger.]*

## Major Events

* It is revealed that Semblances can bypass the usual power restraints of the Simplicitrix due to being binded to one's soul via their Aura.
* Mantle and Atlas are made aware of Salem's existence, as well as the presence of Arthur Watts and Tyrian Callows.
* Alan officially cuts any alliance with Ironwood's group, initially due to Harriet, then solidified due to Ironwood.
* The first Ice Wall kiss occurs.
* Part of Blamurai's true potential is shown, with Alan claiming he only knows a small fraction of the many secrets the transformation hides.
* Ironwood declares martial law, and intends to use the Relic of Creation to lift Atlas, leaving Mantle for dead.
* Indestructiblob, Zerox, Embird, Intangler, Warpion, Unitaur, Crabtastic, and Torquetoise debut.

### Simplicitrix Debuts

* Indestructiblob
* Zerox
* Embird
* Intangler
* Warpion
* Unitaur
* Crabtastic
* Torquetoise

## Characters

* Alan Nomaly
* Ruby Rose
* Weiss Schnee
* Blake Belladonna
* Yang Xiao Long
* Jaune Arc *(cameo)*
* Nora Valkyrie *(cameo)*
* Lie Ren *(cameo)*
* Qrow Branwen *(cameo)*

### Ironwood's Group

* General Ironwood *(footage)*
* Penny Polendina

### Ace Operatives

* Clover Ebi *(cameo)*
* Harriet Bree
* Marrow Amin
* Elm Ederne *(cameo)*
* Vine Zeki *(cameo)*

### Happy Huntresses

* Robyn Hill *(footage)*
* Joanna Greenleaf
* May Marigold
* Fiona Thyme

### Grimm

* Megoliath
* Sabyr
* Frosted Beowolf
* Teryx
* Manticore

## Aliens Used

### Alan Nomaly

* Not Another Squid Alien
* Indestructiblob *(debut, cameo)*
* Paralite *(cameo)*
* Zerox *(debut)*
* Embird *(debut, cameo)*
* Upgrade
* Crabtastic *(debut, cameo)*
* Black Lightning *(cameo)*
* Igknight *(cameo)*
* Torquetoise *(debut)*
* Blamurai

## Allusions

* Ruby referring to the group as Team RWBYA and explaining that "rubia" means "blonde" is a nod to the scene in *Paging Mr. Nomaly* when Alan returned to Remnant briefly. In said scene, Alan proposed him staying on Remnant as a means of escaping his friends' judgement of his actions, and suggested he join the group and have them become Team RWBYA. He was also the one to explain that the word "rubia" that RWBYA is pronounced as means blonde, while Ruby does it here.
* Upgrade saying "We're Upgrade ready!" is a nod to Penny's catchphrase, "I'm combat ready!".
* The rocket Pennygrade made when merging their feet is a nod to a similar one made by Iron Man's Bleeding Edge armor in *Avengers: Infinity War*.
* Yang's reaction to Unitaur's hologram is a nod to when she suggested taking the Rook piece during her initiation to Beacon Academy.
* Harriet blaming Alan for starting the fight only for Alan to correct her that she technically did by throwing the first punch is a nod to how the fight between Qrow and Winter happened in *RWBY* Volume 3. In general, their interactions parallel those of Qrow and Winter during that Volume, though not intentionally for the most part.

## Trivia

* This episode combines the *RWBY* episode *Out in the Open" with the ending of* Gravity*. Its synopsis on* The RWBYA Adventures *page uses the title of* As Above, So Below*.*
* The idea of Team RWBY using Zerox Simplicitrix copies had been floating about for quite some time before properly being implemented, or even deciding upon whether it would actually happen or not. The original idea actually had the group use aliens that were opposite their Semblances and/or personalities, before deciding to just stick to (mostly) random ones in favor of the story over comedy.
	+ Though not described in the episode, the appearance differences between the base transformation and the RWBY versions are as follows:
		- Intangler has just a slightly smaller body size, given the lack of dimorphism the species has. Her eyes and Simplicitrix are silver, similar to Ruby's eyes. Her outfit retains the black and red, albeit stylized differently, and a much lighter grey is added to the outfit, rather than dark grey or the brown/tan of Alan's boots. She also has Ruby's hood. Her skin's color scheme remains the same.
		- Warpion is slightly bigger than Alan's version, and noticeably longer. Her eyes and Simplicitrix are light blue, and her skin color remains the same.
		- Slapstrike takes on a slightly more feminine shape, having an ever so slightly curvier body than Alan's version. Her outfit takes on the white, black, and purple color scheme of BLake, with her eyes and Simplicitrix being yellow. Her outfit is slightly more form-fitting, and has several zippers akin to her main outfit. Her skin color is the same as Alan's version.
		- Unitaur is slightly less muscular than Alan's version. Her outfit bares Yang's tan, brown, white, and orange color scheme, and the shoulderpads are stylized like her bomber jacket; a single portion of her wheel is purple. Her eyes and Simplicitrix match Yang's lilac, and her eyes still turn red upon being angered. Her fur and mane are colored a similar black and red pattern to her mother, Raven Branwen.
* Ruby, Weiss, and Blake had their aliens decided at random by The Alan 10 Alien Generator made by Bencaua. Yang's was intentionally chosen to complement Blake's transformation, given the association between Slapstrike and Unitaur.
* Blake's Slapstrike is the only one of Team RWBY's transformations to not be a debut appearance. However, given Slapstrike's debut was a cameo in a comedic skit, it could be said this is the first proper debut for Slapstrike.
* The parts randomly grown by the Megoliaths after being hit by the Warpion toxin come from other Grimm species:
	+ The wings came from a Nevermore.
	+ The long arms with clawed hands came from an Apathy.
	+ The cord-like growths with white blades came from a Seer.
	+ The human-like creature was an Imp, and notably came from the Nuckelavee, a mix between an Imp and a Horse Grimm.
* Upgrade was able to keep a visual on Team RWBY and their transformations by integrating part of himself with the Simplicitrix's comms.
* Crabtastic's appearance was a very late stage addition to the episode, so as to have almost all of the *RWBYA* playlist would be used before the first finale. As such, his main power was not given proper attention (or rather, none at all), since it didn't fit any of the story.
* Torquetoise was chosen to fight Harriet due to their decided ship name, "The Torquetoise and the Hare." That being said, this ship is shit and toxic, so don't actually ship it.
* This is the second episode to be primarily written from scratch, with little copied from the original episode, following *A New Approach*.

## Credit Scene

*[The scene opens up in the tundra outside the kingdom. The fiery crash of an airship remains in the midst of the wilderness, an unconscious Robyn lying there. Rapid gunfire can be heard as Tyrian repeatedly shot Clover in the back, and then both Tyrian and Qrow charged toward Clover, who slipped past Tyrian and grabbed his braid. He hit Tyrian in the back of the head with his weapon, sending him stumbling forward. As Tyrian bent down and continued forward, Qrow swung his sword at Clover, who blocked it with his rod. Tyrian placed his hand against Qrow's pelvis and pushed, stopping his own momentum while causing Qrow to lose his balance. Tyrian turned to face Clover, while Qrow dropped down and caught himself with his hands. As Tyrian charged forward, Clover sent his hook past him to hook onto the hole in Qrow's sword. He swung his pole, jerking the sword from Qrow's hands and sending it flying to stab into the ground. While the sword stabbed into the ground, Clover stepped back to avoid Tyrian kicking at his legs. Tyrian activated his Semblance and swiped at Clover, who barely managed to dodge. He then grabbed onto Clover's rod with his left hand while clawing at Clover's face with his right. Clover swung his rod at Tyrian, who blocked and dodged. He then jumped at Tyrian, who puts his arms up to block, allowing Clover to kick off from his arms and land several feet away. Tyrian ran towards Clover, who sent his fishing line to wrap around Tyrian, binding his arms to his sides. Tyrian fell forward onto the ground and glared at him. Qrow got to his feet, looking over at his sword and instead ran towards Clover. Watching this, Tyrian grinned and chuckled. As Clover turned toward him, Qrow delivered a heavy punch to his gut, sending him tumbling across the ground and breaking his Aura.]*

Qrow: *[panting heavily]* Why couldn't you just do the right thing instead of the thing you were told?

*[Clover put his hand to his stomach and got up on one knee, looking at Qrow.]*

Clover: Sometimes the right decision is the hardest to make. I trust James with my life! *[gets to his feet]* I wanted to trust *you*.

*[Suddenly, Qrow's sword thrusted forward, and Clover bent back, yelping in pain. Blood splattered onto the snow; Tyrian had plunged Harbinger straight through Clover's back. Qrow stared in shock, while Tyrian chuckled and pulled the sword from Clover's body. Clover stumbled forward, dripping blood onto the snow. His clover pin fell from his shirt. He dropped to the ground, panting as he turned over onto his back, covering the snow beneath him in a puddle of his blood. Tyrian took a few steps forward and rested Harbinger across his shoulders.]*

Tyrian: *[mockingly]* Doesn't look like your friend's going to make it.

Qrow: ***I'LL KILL YOU!***

Tyrian: Oh, you mean... like *you* just killed Clover?

*[Tyrian chuckled and threw the sword down onto the snow. Qrow looked down at his bloodied sword with wide eyes, then glared at Tyrian. The sound of an airship engine approached, and Tyrian looked to the sky.]*

Tyrian: Ah, here they come. Right on time.

*[A Manta flew overhead from Mantle. Qrow screamed and charged toward Tyrian, attempting to punch him, but Tyrian jumped away. Tyrian posed and gestured as he spoke.]*

Tyrian: Ah, looks like our score will have to wait. You know my track record with the authorities!

*[Tyrian ran away, laughing, and Qrow ran after him for a few steps before stopping and looking at Clover. He looked at Tyrian, then ran to Clover and dropped to his knees beside him. It began snowing.]*

Clover: Someone had to take the fall.

Qrow: *James* will take the fall. I'll make sure of it.

*[The tundra slowly began to light up as they speak, and Clover looked off toward the sunrise on the horizon. Qrow turned to look, as well.]*

Clover: *[lightly chuckles]* Good luck.

*[Qrow turned to look down at Clover, who was smiling at him. The light in his eyes faded away as he smiles; the smile, too, faded away. Qrow began to cry and screams out in emotional pain.]*